Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

The Exercise Pill

August 1st, 2008

Quoted from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25949447/:

Exercise in a pill? Drugs show promise in mice – Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com

Here’s a couch potato’s dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat?

Scientists reported Thursday that there is such a drug — if you happen to be a mouse.

Sedentary mice that took the drug for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. And when tested on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice.

 

This is one of those topics where I have to wave my arms around wildly and say “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” to the world. Drug companies are always trying to PILLify the solutions to our problems, and most of us gladly open our palms and wash it down with an Evian. Does the description of the effects this experimental drug (AICAR) sound familiar to anyone? What are some other things that help you keep your weight down and your energy up. Caffeine? Nicotine? Speed perhaps? Just because we can squeeze something down into a pill doesn’t mean we should take it. I can imagine the year 2090. We will have all our meals consolidated into one daily pill. Exercise in a pill. Sleep in a pill. Soul mate in a pill? I shudder at the thought. Can we please keep exercise alive? Stay healthy, stay natural. Shortcuts in life just cut life short.

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