Health & Wellness - Steven P. Timmons [CITYSunTimes August 2009]

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW, CAN'T HELP YOU

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Steven P. Timmons is a compounding chemist and consultant for Mountain View Pharmacy. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University. Steven is a regular contributor to CITYSunTimes.

Pop Quiz:
Vascular Health

How many blood vessels are in your body?
Your blood vessels include arteries, veins and associated capillaries. Together, it is estimated they range from 60,000 miles in a child to almost 100,000 miles in an adult. Since the circumference of the Earth at the equator is about 25,000 miles, this means if all your blood vessels were lined up end to end, they could encircle the Earth almost four times. Most of these blood vessels are represented by about 40 billion microscopic capillaries that are quite short but numerous.

earth

How long does it take to circulate blood through your body?
It is estimated that it takes your red blood cells about one minute at rest to start from your heart and return back to it. The length of time it takes blood to circulate in the body varies with age, body size, physical condition and whether you are resting or physically active.
For more from the Society for Vascular Surgery, visit vascularweb.org.

CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives August 2009
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HEALTH & WELLNESS

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Summit
By Steven P. Timmons

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Sometimes knowledge finds its way to us in the strangest ways. I recently hiked San Jacinto Peak, a beautiful mountaintop situated above the Palm Springs Tramway in California, and as I ambled up the trail with my brother Rod, he told me an interesting story.
His daughter plays NCAA basketball for a prominent California university. One day he decided to buy some Gatorade for her, but when he handed her the pre-bottled sports drink she refused it. It seems that her team only uses Gatorade mixed from the powder. When he asked her why, she replied that the powdered drink “works better.” Teenagers just love having long conversations with their dads, don’t they?
Rod went to the Internet and found out that all bottled sports drinks, almost all carbonated beverages and even most energy bars, use “high fructose corn syrup” rather than sugar (sucrose). Sounds natural and good for you, doesn’t it? Guess again.
Before I let you in on the best kept sugar “secret” of our time, I just have to mention what happened later in the hike. At the top of a peak the same story was told by one hiker to another who was fatigued, and had been drinking pre-bottled sports drinks. My brother hadn’t even opened his mouth.
There is little room to explain, so hit the Internet if you want the full story. Basically, high fructose corn syrup is a highly processed sugar substitute that contains impurities and floods the liver with fructose. Evidence suggests that this assault on the liver may increase obesity, promote diabetes and in many cases might even introduce mercury into your system. Tariffs on sugar importation and subsidies to the corn industry have turned the United States into one of the few countries whose drinks use this syrup almost exclusively. High fructose corn syrup is a liquid and is not added to powdered drinks.
I have noted a significant decrease in bloating and GI disturbances since switching to cane sugar sweetened drinks. That is more than enough proof for me.

HEALTH & WELLNESS Web Exclusive | CITYSunTimes August 2009