This is a very interesting news segment on glyconutrients and some of the benefits people have experienced supplementing with them.

http://www.newsok.com/video/1751861

I think the news report could have pointed out better that these are nutrients and are therefore a little different that "taking something" like a poisonous medication or a toxic herbal. These are natural sugars which have had extensive toxicology studies showing them to be non-toxic. The PDR even lists that. Supplementation is simply about helping to support the body nutritionally. It's a tool in the toolbox and often an overlooked one.

It's nice to watch the video though. It makes me happy to be someone who has shared the education about these nutrients for the benefit of others.

A study published from the Norwegian School of Sports Science shows that kids should play at least 90 minutes a day to help prevent a variety of heart disease risk factors. The study was published in the July 22 issue of The Lancet. As an added benefit, children who are used to physical activity are more likely to continue it in their later years and adulthood. More physical activity can mean not only better lean body mass, and lower fat, but also better bone density and lower risk of dementia.

The method for the study is as follows.

"We did a cross-sectional study of 1732 randomly selected 9-year-old and 15-year-old school children from Denmark, Estonia, and Portugal. Risk factors included in the composite risk factor score (mean of Z scores) were systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, total cholesterol/HDL ratio, insulin resistance, sum of four skinfolds, and aerobic fitness. Individuals with a risk score above 1 SD of the composite variable were defined as being at risk. Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry."

and their findings?

"Odds ratios for having clustered risk for ascending quintiles of physical activity (counts per min; cpm) were 3·29 (95% CI 1·96–5·52), 3·13 (1·87–5·25), 2·51 (1·47–4·26), and 2·03 (1·18–3·50), respectively, compared with the most active quintile. The first to the third quintile of physical activity had a raised risk in all analyses. The mean time spent above 2000 cpm in the fourth quintile was 116 min per day in 9-year-old and 88 min per day in 15-year-old children."

Apparently the study wasn't intended to be read by the children in the study. Sheesh. In short, it means playing is good for kids.

The Lancet has also published an MP3 discussing this study and the importance of childhood exercise. It's certainly more interesting to listen to than the reading of the study.

The American Heart Association has published information on childhood exercise.

It should be noted that video games do not count towards physical exercise and may actually increase some disease risk factors through extended cortisol release in response to the perceived stress induced by the video game.