P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

DO STOMACHS GET TIME-AND-A-HALF FOR OVERTIME?

In the world of baseball it's considered to be the ultimate sacrifice. No, I'm not talking about bunting the runner over to second base. And I'm not talking about a superstar player agreeing to play for only eight million a year, in order to help the team be more competitive overall. (That'll be the day, won't it?) But for a top-of-the-line pitcher, the guy who works Opening Day, and Game 1 of the Series, it's to pitch ON THREE DAYS' REST. You pitch Sunday afternoon, and just 96 hours later, on Thursday night, you're there on the mound again.
The reason it's a big deal is because in the big leagues today, the normal rotation is that you pitch every FIVE days. You pitch one day, then you're off . . . and off . . . and off . . . and off. Four days of rest for your arm before you go out there and throw another 110 pitches. Four's the norm, and three is really pushing it. Unless it's a playoff game, or a really must-win situation, a manager knows that this particular ten-million-dollar arm has got to sit on the sidelines for four days between starts.
Well, friend, that sounds like many ballparks removed from where we've studying together: the topic of health and diet. And yet, as you sit there in the orange seats at Dodger Stadium, this brings us to a very controversial S-word. And that S-word is "snacks." Eating between meals. Dodger dogs and cracker jacks and cotton candy and peanuts and pretzels. Not breakfast. Not lunch. Not dinner or supper. But something a little bit extra tucked in between the three main events of the day. A few bonus calories during the seventh inning stretch.
Our textbook here in this radio series has been the new bestseller: Live 10 Healthy Years Longer. And authors Jan Kuzma and Cecil Murphey make us blush with a 30-year-old statistic, going clear back to 1970, where researchers found out that a full 30% of the food Americans were eating was in the form of snacks. Now, you tell me, do you think that number's gone down or up since then?
And the reason we thought right away of baseball pitchers, and pitching on three days' rest, was this statement these authors make here in Chapter 13:

"Your body has natural rhythms," they write. "One of those rhythms occurs in the digestive tract. Every time you snack, you interrupt the digestive process."

I'm thankful that Jan and Cecil, in discussing this topic, allow for a great deal of latitude. There are people who, for medical reasons, do need to snack. Parents need to be generous, and err on the side of cutting some slack when it comes to growing children. And no, the topic of snacking isn't the top one in this book; there ARE deadlier sins out there in the world of food. But they do describe for us a medical experiment, which has actually been run a number of times. They gave some regular people a good, solid breakfast . . . and then timed to see how long before the stomach was done with it. Average: 4½ hours. If you have a good breakfast at 7:00 a.m., by 11:30 your stomach is completely done and it gets a little break.
Next they had one member of the control group eat an ice cream cone two hours before that good breakfast. His digestion time for breakfast jumped from 4.5 to six hours.
Part two. Three of the members of the panel had breakfast, then also had snacks every half hour . . . but did skip lunch. Snacks included a peanut butter sandwich, some pumpkin pie with milk, and half a slice of buttered bread. What were the results? A good NINE hours after breakfast, there was still food FROM breakfast in their stomachs . . . not to mention the pie and peanut butter.
Now on to part three: lucky person #5 - or unlucky, as we shall see - had the good breakfast. Then two hours later, two chocolate candy bars. (Sound familiar? Don't raise your hand there on the freeway.) Then lunch. Then, between lunch and dinner, two more candy bars. And what happened in this guy's tummy? Thirteen-and-a-half hours after breakfast, more than half OF his breakfast was still churning around down there. Plus the candy bars, of course. Plus parts of lunch, dinner, and the whole hog.
Now friend, whatever else might be said - and yes, we all see ourselves here in one way or another - a stomach treated that way simply is not getting its rest. It's working nonstop. And sooner or later, if you don't go to the bullpen, you're going to be going to the emergency room instead. "Race horses don't race every day." Cecil and Jan add this warning:

"Logic says that if your eating habits fatigue and weaken the digestive system, that weakening - even if you don't feel it physically - will extend to other parts of your body. That's reason enough to avoid snacking."

One reality we all know about is that, as Jan and Cecil put it, "Appetite is a learned response." Do we always reach for a snack because we truly are hungry and our body needs sustenance? Or does something just taste good? Have we gotten programmed to WANT a bit of sugar around 10:30 in the morning? Do we often snack for emotional reasons? Sure we do.
One of the great food-and-diet specialists out there is Dr. John Scharffenberg, a Harvard-trained nutritionist now serving at Loma Linda University. He's a colorful, fun guy to work with, and his lectures are very compelling. He's done some study on this issue of "grazing," where a person eats small amounts all during the day. Now, again, there are people who, medically speaking, need to do this. And there's research which does demonstrate that some people can graze and maintain their weight. But Scharffenberg details six reasons why grazing can be dangerous:

1. The process called "demineralization," a subtle breakdown on the crystal framework of your teeth, goes on for two hours anytime you eat. Until you brush, of course. If you graze all day, that wear-down is pretty much continuous. Number two, your blood triglycerides spike up every time you eat. Sticky platelets can lead to clotting and heart attacks.
Number three: blood sugar stays high. So you need more insulin. Heart attacks lurk around that corner too. Four: if you digest three good meals a day, instead of those exact same amounts of food spread out in a day-long graze, you burn up about 40 calories a day more with the three biggies. It's a small thing, but every bit helps.
Number five: grazing can lead to a real psychological dependence on food, a fixation on it - especially if you never really get full. Food can become a conflict-resolution tool. People use snacks to get through emotional trauma, then suffer with guilt afterward. It becomes a roller coaster.
Finally, number six - depletion of your stomach's hydrochloric acid. Grazing can also disturb your sleep. And - if you're eating a lot of empty calories - malnutrition could be where you're heading.
Well, once again, let's take our last few minutes and go over to the dessert counter marked "Getting Practical." If snacking is a deeply ingrained habit, how can we triumph over it?
Jan and Cecil have just two words to say about breakfast: EAT IT! Start with a good breakfast. Now, don't borrow a page from that very cute scene in the black-and-white comedy from a few years ago, Pleasantville, where the Year 2000 teenage boy and girl, transported back into TV Land, encounter a loving mother who piles the breakfast table full of pancakes (with syrup), waffles (with syrup), French toast (with berries and whipped cream), greasy potatoes (with oil), pastries (with sugar), huge slabs of meat (with gravy), six-egg omelets (with cholesterol.) And the black-and-white dad pushes a plate of Mother's blueberry muffins on the kids. "These are swell," he says, vibrating with 1950s enthusiasm. Like I say, it wouldn't be too keen to go that far. But begin the day by really "breaking your fast" and having your most substantial meal of the day. In fact, PLAN that you WILL have three substantial meals daily, at regular times: a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With, by the way, good servings of grain, fruits, and vegetables.
Then, when you feel like you simply have to have a snack, have a big glass of water instead. Flavor it with lemon and lime, if that helps.
And I thought this tip was helpful. Simply learn to say "No, thank you." I have to confess that here at the office there are times when some food comes around at three in the afternoon. "It's Phil's birthday, and Lance and Lynn brought in some cake! Over in Accounting. Come on by!" Well, I've had some, and there are times when you smile and do a little bending. But it IS all right to just say instead, "Man, that looks good but . . . no thanks. I'm trying to cut back." Or this: "Sure, cut me a piece. I'll save it and have it with my dinner."

Hard to do? Yes. It's a choice. But successful people in the Live-Longer Lifestyle - those who live 10 to 13 years longer - find the strength to make that choice. When they fail, which we all do, they simply renew that commitment and keep on going. And the bottom line is - speaking of baseball - they get to see a lot more postseason games.