|
Drug
Search
Shopping
Cart
|
April Canadian Pharmacy News
Issue #7, April 2004
CNN) -- Whether trekking on a treadmill or slicing through a pool, for many people, exercising in the morning is like drinking a cup of coffee. The early physical activity stimulates them and gives the day a strong start.
"I feel great after morning exercise," said Orlando Suarez, a 39-year-old director of special events in Los Angeles, California. "I feel very energetic, very clear. It's like I have a sustained energy throughout the day."
But one neurologist is challenging the old convention of the morning workout. In fact, Dr. Phyllis Zee of Northwestern University has a different opinion about when is the ideal time to exercise.
"The best time to work out is in the late afternoon," Zee said. "The reason for that is your muscle strength is at its peak, its highest. You're going to be less likely to injure yourself. It's also a time when people are most awake and alert."
The science behind Zee's assertion resides with delicate rhythms of the brain called circadian rhythms. According to Zee, circadian rhythms explain why working out later in the day might be more productive and beneficial.
"One of the things that circadian rhythms does is that it determines when your best performance time is," Zee said. "Your ability to perform changes throughout 24 hours."
Circadian rhythms operate like an internal clock in the body. Neuron signals are fired out by the hypothalamus [a region of the brain], controlling sleep patterns, blood pressure, even our moods.
"These are rhythms that are innate," Zee said. "They are in almost any organism, whether you are an animal or a plant, and they recur every 24 hours."
Circadian rhythms also control body temperature, a key element of a more productive workout. According to Zee, by the afternoon, body temperature is between one and two degrees warmer than in the morning, making muscles in the body more supple and lowering the risk of injury.
Top of the page
Another circadian expert agrees.
"Maximum body temperature happens between 2 and 4 p.m.," said Dr. Michael Vitiello, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington. "After that, [body temperature] starts to decline for most people.
"It all depends on whether you want to exercise in early afternoon or early evening. But we're not talking about a gigantic difference [from the peak period]."
Top of the page
Challenging popular notions
David Padron, a 28-year-old graphic designer in Fresno, California, finds that his afternoon workouts aren't only easier on his body but also that his performance increases, too.
"I look forward to it all day," Padron said. "I feel more relaxed. In the afternoon, I have the energy to lift 20 more pounds than in the morning."
Some health experts recommend exercising in the morning because the body's metabolism will get an early start at burning calories and sustain that higher metabolic rate during the hours after.
But for one fitness expert, that might not be enough of an argument for morning exercise.
"There is some evidence that morning exercise promotes more fat burning than other times of the day, but the difference is so small that it really wouldn't matter," said Richard Cotton, an exercise physiologist. "And if you're going to exercise inconsistently in the morning, then it's not worth it at all."
Top of the page
Some better than none
Recently, a government study found an alarming exercise trend among American adults. A staggering 60 percent of Americans don't exercise enough, and more than 25 percent aren't physically active at all, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cotton, who is also a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, agrees that afternoon exercise might be a good way to prevent injury and get maximum performance, but said the most important thing is a consistent exercise regimen.
"In middle-aged and younger adults, it's probably not a big difference for them in terms of their exercise time," Cotton said. "It is really their lifestyle and what works for them that's really important when determining your exercise time."
Health experts agree -- it's better to exercise some than not at all. They say if people prefer to exercise in the morning, they need to spend a few more minutes warming up to stay on the path to good health.
Top of the page
'The
Cow is out of the Barn' on Gap in Prescription Drug Costs
BY BARBARA PALMER - Stanford Report, Mar. 3, 2004
Panelists including two former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioners discussed issues including the gap between domestic and international prescription drug prices during two standing-room-only, hour-long sessions on "The Future of Healthcare." The sessions were part of Friday's economic summit at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
"The cow is out of the barn," in terms of Americans knowing the difference between the cost to consumers of prescription drugs in the United States and other parts of the world, said Dr. Alan Garber, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Health Policy at Stanford. A recent study reported that Europeans pay on average 60 percent less per capita than their U.S. counterparts, he said.
Addressing opposition to legislation that would allow U.S. distributors and pharmacists to re-import prescription drugs into the United States, Garber said that drug companies probably are making a political mistake by "going to the mat" over the issue.
Top of the page
The effort by the FDA and pharmaceutical companies to convince U.S. consumers that there are compelling safety reasons for the differences in price between drugs purchased in the United States and drugs purchased in Canada is like trying to convince a passenger who paid $2,400 for a plane ticket who is sitting next to a passenger who paid $450 that the first passenger got a good deal, he said. The FDA is "trying to convince the American public that they aren't in the same plane as the people sitting next to them -- that the Canadians' plane is more likely to crash or not arrive on time." It hasn't succeeded, he said.
Drug companies also have made a mistake by not recognizing the monopoly power that they have in negotiating with foreign governments, he said. "The tougher the American public gets about not wanting to pay more, the more we improve the negotiating position of drug companies with respect to their foreign customers."
However, the fundamental problem is with the demand side of the market, he said. Health plans lack the ability to negotiate drug prices, particularly when there is a single effective FDA-approved drug for a condition, he said. "It's the best kind of market you can imagine: a monopoly, selling in a market where nobody is paying out of pocket. Nothing could be sweeter."
Top of the page
Americans in northern states are reaching the point where the fear that buying drugs outside of the United States is risky will be overwhelmed by the amount of money that can be saved by doing so, said President Emeritus Donald Kennedy, a panelist and one of 11 former FDA commissioners who testified before Congress against re-importation legislation. In one example he recounted Friday, consumers who took a day trip by bus to Canada saved a total of $19,000 by buying prescription drugs in Canadian pharmacies.
If re-importation legislation were achieved, however, harm could be done by dampening investment by U.S. pharmaceutical companies, Kennedy warned. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry is a "unique source of significant research and innovation -- if we discourage research and innovation, that's a problem not only for the U.S. but for the rest of the world," he said.
In his remarks, Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner and dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs at the University of California-San Francisco, talked about the effect that differential drug prices have on the ability to treat the millions of people who are HIV infected globally. Although the 1990s was a "historic period" in the development of drugs that could treat the disease, "that was almost the easy part," he said.
In the next decade, 45 million people are expected to become infected with the disease, he said. "It's a nightmare for Africa and a nightmare for the rest of the world."
Top of the page
While fewer than 200 children will die this year of pediatric AIDS in the United States, 45 percent of young women in Botswana are infected with AIDS, he said. By 2010, life expectancy in that country is expected to drop to 27 years, he said.
In late February, $125 million to buy drugs to treat HIV-infected children and adults was awarded to nongovernmental organizations, including the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, of which Kessler is a board member, he said. However, the funds are restricted for purchase of drugs regulated by Western authorities, which cost twice as much or more as in other places. "Where am I supposed to buy drugs?" he asked.
Top of the page
It's a mistake to try to solve the healthcare crisis issue by issue, since "healthcare is an ecosystem," said panelist Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. And with the "tsunami" of Baby Boomers headed toward old age, there isn't time to solve it piece by piece, he said. At the current rate, "we'll have universal coverage in 3050," he said.
Wyden, with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, authored health care reform legislation, the Health Care that Works for All Americans Act, which was approved as an amendment to the Medicare prescription drug bill. When funded, the measure will create a 26-member Citizens' Health Care Working Group, which will develop healthcare reform recommendations from public input gathered from community meetings and online. Had healthcare reform efforts made a decade ago included public debate and education, "we'd be in a different position" today, Wyden said.
Top of the page
We Are Open on Memorial Day - May 31st
Medisave Canada Pharmacy will be open:
Memorial Day - May 31st
8:00AM ?6:00pm pst (10:00am? 9:00PM est)
Top of the page
New!! Generic
Prescription Meds Available at Medisave
Paxil - Antidepressant - Generic - Order
Now!
Medisave now offers our customers generic Paxil
at an even lower price. Purchase generic Paxil for $117.00 and save
100 % compared to Walgreens price of approximately $260.00.
Order
Generic Paxil
More Generic Paxil Information
Generic Paxil Side Effects
Top of the page
Celexa - Antidepressant - Generic - Order
Now!
Medisave now offers our customers generic Celexa
at an even lower price. Purchase generic Celexa for $95.00 and save
over 100 % compared to Walgreens price of approximately $265.00.
Order Generic Celexa
More Generic Celexa Information
Generic Celexa Side Effects
Top of the page
Mobic- Anti-inflammatory - Generic - Order
Now!
Medisave now offers our customers generic Mobic
at an even lower price. Purchase generic Paxil for $70.00 and save
over 100 % compared to Walgreens price of approximately $270.00.
Order Generic Mobic
More Generic Mobic Information
Generic Mobic Side Effects
Top of the page
Medisave Customer Feedback
We would love to hear what you think of this issue
of our newsletter. If you have any feedback or suggestions for upcoming
Medisave.ca newsletters please let us know via e-mail at customerservice@medisave.ca
|