Effects of Fasting on the Physiological and Psychological Responses in Middle-Aged Men.

Tracking changes in the body during fasting takes into account indicators of mental well-being and physiological parameters. The aim of the study was to measure psychological and physiological reactions, along with their mutual relations, caused by 8 days of water-only fasting. Fourteen men aged 35 to 60 participated in the study, divided into two groups, younger and elder.

Body Loading during an Intensive Yoga Exercise Routine and a Cycle Ergometer Test.

The present study compared the effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic functions of the practice of an intensive yoga exercise routine called Dynamic Suryanamaskar (DSN) and a cycle ergometer test (CET) of increasing intensity. The study involved 18 middle-aged volunteers who had previously practiced DSN. The study was conducted in two series (i.

Excessive Facial Wrinkling Is Associated with COPD Occurrence-Does COPD Damage Skin Beauty and Quality?

The aim of this study was to investigate facial wrinkling in COPD patients, its relationship with lung function parameters, and the differences in wrinkling between COPD patients and smokers without COPD. The study included 56 patients with COPD with smoking history and 84 controls. Wrinkle intensity was measured and classified using Daniell's grading system, and the total length of wrinkles was also estimated.

Evaluation of transport properties of biomembranes by means of Peusner network thermodynamics.

Purpose: The R version of the Kedem-Katchalsky-Peusner (KKP) network equations is one of the basic research tools for membrane transport. For binary solutions of non-electrolytes containing a solvent and one solute, these equations include the Peusner resistance coefficients. The aim of the study was to assess the transport properties of biomembranes on the basis of the concentration characteristics of the coefficients: resistance, coupling, energy conversion efficiency and degraded and free energy fluxes.

Effect of 8-Day Fasting on Leukocytes Expression of Genes and Proteins Involved in Iron Metabolism in Healthy Men.

The popularity of fasting and restricted food intake is increasing. While the body's adaptability to dietary insufficiency is crucial for health, molecular mechanisms of adaptive changes are not well understood. Here, we compared the effects of fasting and exercise on the expression of leukocyte genes and proteins involved in the storage, export, and acquisition of iron, an essential element with physiological roles.

Eight Days of Water-Only Fasting Promotes Favorable Changes in the Functioning of the Urogenital System of Middle-Aged Healthy Men.

The aim of this study was to determine whether, after 8 days of water-only fasting, there are changes in the efficiency of the lower urinary tract, the concentration of sex hormones, and the symptoms of prostate diseases in a group of middle-aged men ( = 14). For this purpose, before and after 8 days of water-only fasting (subjects drank moderately mineralized water), and the following somatic and blood concentration measurements were made: total prostate specific antigen (PSA-T), free prostate specific antigen (PSA-F), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotropic hormone (LH), prolactin (Pr), total testosterone (T-T), free testosterone (T-F), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), sex hormone globulin binding (SHGB), total cholesterol (Ch-T), β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB). In addition, prostate volume (PV), volume of each testis (TV), total volume of both testes (TTV), maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax), and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) values were determined.

Body composition and nutrition of female athletes.

Background: The somatic features of the athletes’ bodies partially determine their sporting level and are conditioned to a large extent by the state of nutrition.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to present nutritional status and its correlation with the somatic determinants of training athletes and physical education students.

Material And Methods: This study involved 12 weightlifting players (subgroup-WL), 15 soccer players (subgroup-SP), 12 table tennis players (subgroup-TT) and 12 female students of physical education (subgroup-C).

Three-Year Chronic Consumption of Low-Carbohydrate Diet Impairs Exercise Performance and Has a Small Unfavorable Effect on Lipid Profile in Middle-Aged Men.

The objective of this research was to determine whether chronic (average 3.58 ± 1.56 years) deliberate adherence to low carbohydrate diets (LCDs) is associated with selected markers of metabolism, risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD), body mass and physical performance in apparently healthy middle-aged men ( = 12).

A nutritional evaluation of dietary behaviour in various professional sports.

Background: The types of physical exertion undertaken by weightlifters and race walkers markedly differ. This difference should also be reflected in their respective diets.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate and assess the diets of professional weightlifters and race walkers, along with a comparison to the diets of those students studying physical education (PE).

Health benefits and risk associated with adopting a vegetarian diet.

A vegetarian diet may be adopted for various reasons that can include ecological, economic, religious, ethical and health considerations. In the latter case they arise from the desire to lose weight, in tackling obesity, improving physical fitness and/or in reducing the risk of acquiring certain diseases. It has been shown that properly applied vegetarian diet is the most effective way of reducing body mass (expressed as BMI), improving the plasma lipid profile and in decreasing the incidence of high arterial blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, metabolic syndrome and arteriosclerosis.

Effects of a brief Valsalva manoeuvre on hemodynamic response to strength exercises.

Strength training is a recommended measure against loss of strength and muscle mass because of age- or illness-induced inactivity. Strength exercises may impose heavy cardiovascular load by increasing heart rate and blood pressure. To increase strength efficiently, a heavy load has to be applied; this, however, leads to a spontaneous Valsalva manoeuvre, which additionally raises blood pressure.

Long-term consumption of a carbohydrate-restricted diet does not induce deleterious metabolic effects.

Carbohydrate (CHO)-restricted diets have been recommended for weight loss and to prevent obesity, but their long-term effects have not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of long-term (>1 year) consumption of a low-CHO high-fat diet ("The optimal diet," developed by Dr Kwaśniewski referenced herein) on lipid profile, glycemic control, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy subjects. Of 31 "optimal" dieters enrolled in the study (17 women and 14 men, aged 51.

[Accomplishment of the educational path "pro-healthy education" in the opinion of teachers of different subjects].

The purpose of the presented report is analysis of opinions of teachers of different subjects on supplementing knowledge, discussed topics, methods applied in health education and its environmental factors. In the years 2004-2006, a diagnostic survey was carried out among 289 teachers of different subjects employed in secondary and post-secondary schools in slaskie (Silesian), lubelskie (Lublin) and podkarpackie (sub-Carpathian) voivodeships /regions/. Analysis covered answers to questions concerning the atmosphere predominating in school when realizing health education and ways of carrying out the pro-health path.

[Physical fitness of children after operation of ventricular septal defect of the heart].

Physical fitness of 26 children aged 8-12 years, being 4-7 years after cardiosurgical correction of ventricular septal defect of the heart (VSD) was studied. The results were compared with the ones obtained in 23 healthy children of the same range of age. There were continuously registered in these children the gas exchange values with direct method using progressive exercise test.

Volume osmotic flows of non-homogeneous electrolyte solutions through horizontally mounted membrane.

Results of an experimental study of volume osmotic flows in a single-membrane osmotic-diffusive cell, which contains a horizontal, microporous, symmetrical polymer membrane separating water and binary or ternary electrolyte solutions are presented. In the experimental set-up, water was placed on one side of the membrane. The opposite side of the membrane was exposed to binary or ternary solutions.

Effects of a low carbohydrate diet and graded exercise during the follicular and luteal phases on the blood antioxidant status in healthy women.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a low-carbohydrate (L-CHO) diet and graded cycling exercise on the enzymatic and non-enzymatic blood antioxidant defence system in young eumenorrhoeic women. Seven healthy physical education students exercised incrementally until they were fatigued under four different phase-diet conditions of the menstrual cycle, i.e.

Anaerobic power, creatine kinase activity, lactate concentration, and acid-base equilibrium changes following bouts of exhaustive strength exercises.

The study was conducted on 10 male bodybuilders and powerlifters who performed highly exhaustive strength exercises for both the upper and lower limbs. They included 10 progressive sets of squats for the lower limbs and 10 progressive sets of the bench press for the upper limbs. Anaerobic power was evaluated by the 30-second Wingate test 3 times: after a 2-day rest period, and 10 minutes and 24 hours after the cessation of exhaustive strength exercises.

Effect of sustained adrenergic receptors stimulation and blockade on lactate threshold in rats.

Background: This study examined the hypothesis that prolonged (12 hrs) stimulation of adrenergic receptors by adrenaline and their blockade by regitine (alpha-blockade) or propranolol (beta-blockade) affect lactate thresh-old (T(LA)) and exercise tolerance in rats.

Methods: Twenty-four untrained male Wistar rats performed a multistage running test on a treadmill with an intensity increased from 13 m/min to the maximum speed. After a control exercise test the animals were devided into three groups implanted s.

[Physical fitness of children after cardiosurgical correction of an atrial septal defect type II].

Physical fitness of 17 children aged 8-12 years being 4-7 years after cardiosurgical correction of interatrial defect of the heart (ASD II) was studied. The results were compared with the ones obtained in 14 healthy children of the same age. The parameters of gas exchange, gasometry, heart rate, ECG, arterial blood pressure were determined during supervised physical fitness test.

The effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on performance, hormonal and metabolic responses to a 30-s bout of supramaximal exercise.

The aim of this study was to find out whether a low-carbohydrate diet (L-CHO) affects: (1) the capacity for all-out anaerobic exercise, and (2) hormonal and metabolic responses to this type of exercise. To this purpose, eight healthy subjects underwent a 30-s bicycle Wingate test preceded by either 3 days of a controlled mixed diet (130 kJ/kg of body mass daily, 50% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 20% protein) or 3 days of an isoenergetic L-CHO diet (up to 5% carbohydrate, 50% fat, 45% protein) in a randomized order. Before and during 1 h after the exercise venous blood samples were taken for measurement of blood lactate (LA), beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-HB), glucose, adrenaline (A), noradrenaline (NA) and insulin levels.

Effect of various types of exercise training on 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase activities in rat heart: influence of a single bout of endurance exercise.

The aim of the present study was to find out whether activities of the enzymes controlling adenosine metabolism, 5'-nucleotidase (5NT) and adenosine deaminase (ADA), in the left ventricle of the rat's heart change after 6 weeks of endurance or sprint training. Additionally, an influence of a single bout of endurance exercise till exhaustion on activities of these enzymes was investigated in sedentary and trained rats. The rats were divided into three groups: (1) sedentary controls (C), (2) endurance-trained (ET), and (3) sprint-trained (ST).

Influence of thyroid hormones on exercise tolerance and lactate threshold in rats.

Effects of thyroid hormone deficit, and triiodothyronine (T3) treatment on exercise performance, blood lactate (LA) concentrations and LA threshold (TLA) were studied in trained and untrained rats. Fourteen rats were thyroidectomized and then treated with propylthiouracil for 30 days (THY + PTU group). Fourteen sham operated rats served as controls.

Effect of low-carbohydrate-ketogenic diet on metabolic and hormonal responses to graded exercise in men.

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and lactate threshold (LT) were measured during graded, incremental exercise in 8 healthy, untrained volunteers (aged 22 +/- 0.9 yrs) following 3 days on a control, mixed diet, or a ketogenic (50% fat, 45% protein and 5% carbohydrates) diet of equal energy content. Before and after exercise tests acid base balance, plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-HB), free fatty acid (FFA), and some hormone concentrations were determined.

Effect of sustained hyperadrenalinemia on exercise performance and lactate threshold in rats.

The effect of prolonged elevation of blood adrenaline concentration (sustained up to 60 h) on exercise performance and lactate threshold (TLA) was investigated in 24 rats on the basis of a incremental, multistage treadmill exercise test, performed before and after subcutaneous implantation of retard adrenaline tablets (15 mg), which release adrenaline at a constant rate of approx. 1.6 micrograms min-1.

Effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on plasma and sweat ammonia concentrations during prolonged nonexhausting exercise.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of low body glycogen stores on plasma ammonia concentration and sweat ammonia excretion during prolonged, nonexhausting exercise of moderate intensity. On two occasions seven healthy untrained men pedalled on a cycle ergometer for 60 min at 50% of their predetermined maximal O2 uptakes (VO2max) firstly, following 3 days on a normal mixed diet (N-diet) (60% carbohydrates, 25% fat and 15% protein) and secondly, following 3 days on a low-carbohydrate diet (LC-diet) (less than 5% carbohydrates, 50% fat and 45% protein) of equal energy content. Blood was collected from the antecubital vein immediately before, at 30th and at 60th min of exercise.