Free Radicals (2018)

Free Radicals

TRUMP VS SCIENCE Investigating the effect of Trump’s presidency on climate change UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION Why cancer patients can’t kick the unhealthy habits of a lifetime SWEET EVOLUTION It’s not you, it’s genetic: why we’re hard-wired to love sugar

MONTHLY March 2018

CSR: THE QUESTIONS

Are corporations meeting their responsibilities to us and the environment?

UNSUNG HEROES

Revealing unseen behaviour of our commonest birds

PLASTIC PLANET

GAINING STRENGTH

The cellular science behind building muscle

How you can help solve the pollution problem

THE GREEN HOME

How sustainable sourcing can help you save money

DANGEROUS DIET TRENDS

How iodine deficiency in pregnancy could lower your child’s IQ Issue 1/1 £Priceless

Free Radicals EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

William Barnes, Joe Dulieu, Paul Isaacs, Carly Jones, Fred Kaur, Rosie Levaillant, Abi Starr, Eve Warner, Harley Williams

CONTACT a.rivers@bathspa.ac.uk We take great care to ensure all elements of Free Radicals are accurate. However, we accept no liability for any misprints or mistakes that appear. Please note prices may vary from retailer to retailer and from region to region. It will be assumed any letters sent to the magazine are intended for publication unless otherwise stated. Next month’s contents is subject to change.

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Unsung heroes

The birds in your garden can be just as fascinating as ‘bucket list’ animals, explains Abi Starr

Our plastic planet

Rosie Levaillant looks at the toll plastic pollution is taking on the planet and explores future solutions

The green home

Harley Williams investigates how going green at home can actually save money in the long run

CSR: the questions

Are corporate targets enough to reduce industrial environmental footprints, asks Joe Dulieu

Trump vs science

Eve Warner discusses how Trump’s environmental stance is affecting both the political and global climates

Understanding addiction

With smoking and obesity rates in post-treatment cancer patients through the roof, William Barnes looks at what can be done to bring them under control

Sweet evolution

Fred Kaur finds out how cravings once helped keep us alive, and what happens when nature can’t keep up with all the food now available to us

Dangerous diet trends

With more young women adopting radical diets, Carly Jones argues that the government is failing to raise awareness of the risks

Muscle growth 101

Building muscle is a complex process at a cellular level. Paul Isaacs explains what’s going on beneath the surface

Unsung heroes The birds in your garden can be just as fascinating as ‘bucket list’ animals. Abi Starr explores the unseen behaviours going on in your hedge!

4 | Free Radicals | March 2018

NATURE

Cheeky, charming and charismatic, blue tits make use of many foods offered and have lots of fascinating behaviours

In our increasingly busy lives we often don’t think twice about that friendly robin in the garden, or the blackbird we hear on the way home from work, and yet, many of us dream of watching elephants on an African Safari or seeing a humpback whale breach in the Arctic. People see these animals as exciting and interesting, so why not our feathered friends. We see them most often, but continue to overlook them? These animals are just as fascinating, if only we looked a little closer...

Using your enemies’ strengths against them

Ever seen a bird appear to sunbathe on a dreary day? Or a bird lying on the ground with what appears to be a broken wing, only for it to fly off when approached?

Well it may have been participating in an

activity called anting. Anting is when a bird encourages ants to crawl over its body and cover its feathers in the formic acid and other chemicals they excrete.

Now this might sound painful, and perhaps a bit daft, but the birds appear to enjoy it – so what’s going on? Well, the bird is actually using the ants to provide insecticide! Many birds are constantly covered in parasites such as mites and ticks, but the ant secretions are so strong, that they actually kill those annoying little hitch-hikers!

Anting can be done actively or passively, the type of anting depends on the species of bird. Active anting involves the bird (such as a starling) taking ants in its bill and wiping them over their feathers. This appears very similar to ordinary preening, so unless you’re looking very closely, it can be hard to see.

When a bird is anting passively, it sits on top of an anthill and spreads its wings and tail. It then fidgets, to annoy the ants and trigger them to spray them with their chemical cocktail. A bird passively anting can look injured, or as if it’s sunbathing, but it should fly away when approached. Passive anting is found in birds such as jays and blackbirds.

Anting is clearly effective and birds seem to like it – so it’s a mystery as to why not every bird engages in anting and also why those that do so, ant infrequently.

Dunnock mating strategies

While many birds stick to one partner per breeding season, with some species even mating for life, the humble dunnock does things very differently.

Sometimes referred to as the hedge sparrow March 2018 | Free Radicals | 5

Andreas Trepte, www.photo-natur.net

[r] With its characteristic cocked tail, the wren is often heard before it’s seen.

Its loud song tricks the listener into thinking they are hearing a much larger bird; [opp] A long tailed tit’s nest is a work of art and lined with feathers to make it nice and cosy!

(although not technically a sparrow at all), the dunnock is a shy, well camouflaged garden visitor, but despite its unassuming appearance, the dunnock has a truly fascinating strategy when it comes to bringing up the next generation. Strategies include: monogamy – a single pair raising one brood; polyandry – more than one male paired with the same female, all tending one nest; polygamy – a male paired with more than one female – he

bacteria on the growing chicks, making them healthier and enabling them to grow faster as they don’t have to- use so much energy maintaining their immune systems.

Long tailed tits build their nests to last. You may have seen the classic image of a brood of young birds spilling out of the nest as they get bigger, but the long tailed tit build nests that stretch as the youngsters grow. They use lichen and spider silk to construct their elaborate

Ever seen a bird appear to sunbathe on a dreary day?

Or a bird lying on the ground with a broken wing, only for it to fly off when approached? tends several nests; and finally, polygynandry involves breeding groups with two birds of each sex When a female mates with more than one male – she’s hoping they will both help raise her chicks (meaning they’re more likely to survive). However, sometimes, a male will know that a female has already mated and will peck at her cloaca to try and encourage her to eject his rival’s sperm before mating with her himself.

Quick fire facts!

Some birds for example, blue tits, use disinfectant! They’ve been found to bring sprigs of plants such as lavender and apple mint into their nests. This reduces the numbers of 6 | Free Radicals | March 2018

nests, this choice of material means the nest actually expands as the chicks inside develop.

No need for an extension here!

House sparrows aren’t the charming, cheeky, characters they first appear to be. Not only do they dominate feeders, pushing out other birds, but they also tear apart or take over nests of birds such as house martins. They will also destroy any eggs or chicks already in the nest. This violent behaviour can sometimes cause entire breeding colonies of martins to desert an area. A little bird with a big attitude!

Wrens sure can shout! Although Britain’s second smallest bird, the wren has the loudest song compared to their body size of any UK bird.

Blackbirds have strict rules on who looks

after the chicks after they fledge – if the adults are going to attempt to breed again, the male is left in charge of the previous brood whilst the female prepares for the next clutch. However, if it’s the last brood of the year then the male and female will both tend the fledglings but will assign themselves to particular chicks.

You can milk a wood-pigeon! Yes, along with a small number of other birds, the woodpigeon produces ‘crop milk’. Its composition is remarkably similar to that of mammalian milk. Made in the structure in the throat that normally holds food, it is produced in the last few days of egg incubation. For the first few days of their lives, the crop milk is the only thing that the pigeon chicks (or ‘squabs’) are fed on.

You’ve got a friend in me

Lots of our garden birds are selfish when raising their young, only concerned with tending their own brood to ensure their genes make it into the next generation. However, this isn’t the case for all species.

In birds such as house martins and swallows, parents can be assisted in raising a brood of chicks by their first offspring from that season. This makes great sense as there are more birds feeding the new chicks – increasing their chances of survival.

Impressive as this seems, it’s nothing compared to the cooperative behaviours shown by the long-tailed tit. With their stout, fluffy bodies and namesake long tails, they are one of

nottsexminer

NATURE

our most sociable garden birds.

Over the winter months, a family group of long tailed tits will work together to hold a territory and then snuggle up together at night to keep warm. When spring rolls around, this remarkable little bird really comes into its own.

In early spring, the flock will spread out, with each pair taking residence in an area of the territory the group held over winter.

As the breeding season gets underway, some pairs will ultimately fail in their attempts to become parents. If this happens when its too late in the season to try again, the pair will separate and begin to tend the brood of a sibling. Not only does this mean that the chicks are fed more, but it also helps the parents of the nest maintain better condition as they don’t have to work so hard to meet the demands of their fast-growing chicks.

Nests can have multiple helpers, with two not uncommon and one nest was observed being tended by eight additional birds! The helpers do get rewarded for their efforts however, they gain acceptance into the winter flock, giving them access to all of the benefits that come from holding a territory through the harshest months, such as food, protection and warmth.

Wren push comes to shove So, as we’ve seen, there’s a lot more going on in the hedge at the bottom of your garden than you might expect. If you want to get to know some of these birds, and perhaps see

these particular behaviours for yourself, try encouraging them to your garden by feeding them. You start by throwing the crumbs from your breakfast toast on to the lawn, and upgrade to feeders when you’re ready. There’s lots of advice out there on bird feeders and feeding. If you don’t have much of a garden, you can get a range of feeders that attach to the window, they offer fantastic, intimate views of a variety of birds. If you do use feeders, it’s important to keep them clean (birds such as Greenfinches have recently undergone a dramatic decline due to an infection spread via feeders). You will also need to provide your new feathered friends with fresh water, so they can drink and bathe to keep their feathers in tip-top condition. Don’t forget to check it regularly in cold weather to ensure it’s not frozen!

Learning more about the wildlife we see most often enables us to appreciate it in ways we didn’t before, which is important as it would enable us to adapt to support certain aspects of these birds lives, should it become necessary for a more concentrated conservation effort. At the moment, all the birds featured in this article are common garden visitors, but as mankind has an increasing effect on the planet and our more local environment, this could change, in which case we need to respect our wild neighbours in order to protect them and ensure they visit our gardens for generations to come.

Now it’s over to you…

If this article has inspired you to start feeding your birds, here are a few hints and tips to get you started n Many

birds find peanuts irresistible, especially throughout the harshest months. But take care not to put out whole nuts in the spring and summer (unless they are in a feeder) as young birds can choke on them. n If you want to encourage more exciting birds, such as goldfinches, offer up a wide variety of foods. Finches particularly enjoy sunflower hearts and niger seeds. n Don’t bin that apple! If you’ve got some tired looking apples in the fruit bowl, set them out for the birds. Blackbirds and song thrushes are our most common apple-munchers but in winter, migrant species such as fieldfares or redwing might find the apples you leave out. n Birds such as robins and wrens will appreciate mealworms. You can get them dried from many places, and if you soak them, birds find them even more tempting. Or if you’re feeling brave, you can buy them live - birds love seeing them wiggle. n For more help: this guide from the RSPB has plenty of information: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/ advice/how-you-can-help-birds/feeding-birds

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 7

OUR PLASTIC PLANET

8 | Free Radicals | March 2018

ENVIRONMENT

With 52 trillion pieces of plastic floating through the ocean, we look at the toll it’s taking on the planet and explore future solutions to the plastic problem

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 9

Floating through the oceans currently is approximately 5.52 trillion particles of plastic, weighing 268,940 tons. With an estimated 12.7 million metric tonnes entering the ocean in 2010 alone, and plastic being present in all 5 main ocean gyres, our seas now hang in the balance as marine life suffers and governments and charities search for solutions.

Plastic waste found in the sea consists of bottles, bags, toothbrushes, wet wipes, cups and straws, and even plastic particles from clothing as well as micro particles and microbeads. Micro particles or micro plastics are tiny fragments less than 1mm in width, which have entered as bigger plastics that, through weathering and photodegradation, have been broken down into smaller fragments. Microbeads are plastic spherical balls (ranging from 5Âľm to 1mm in size) developed to offer abrasion in scrubs, shower gels and toothpaste.

Wind and rain move plastics that have been left on the land, many of which end up in the sea. So much plastic ends up left on the land due to improper waste management and

their prey species, the jellyfish.

As they break down and degrade they are also thought to produce, release and absorb toxic organic chemicals polluting our precious oceans that we source not only water but

In 2014 scientists found microplastics that had travelled 600 miles from Norway to the North Pole, frozen within the Arctic ice littering. Many items also get washed into the sea via the sewers. Once in the sea, they do not biodegrade, but exist in the water, travelling the seas and entering the most remote marine environments in the world. Plastic resin pellets or nurdles, that are melted together to make thousands of the plastic products we use today, often get discarded or spill from ships and trucks, and have been found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans as well as the Caribbean Sea. In 2014 scientists found microplastics that had travelled 600 miles from Norway to the North Pole, frozen within Arctic ice.

The silent killer

Plastic entering the sea is a huge problem not just because it is a non-degradable material. It also produces deadly toxins, negatively affects all marine life and has a big concern for human health too. Bits of plastic along with old fishing nets entangle marine life, causing growth deformities and death. They get ingested by anything from whales and turtles, to birds and fish causing starvation. Leatherback turtles have been seen to seek out plastic litter, ingesting pieces of latex and carrier bags which can block the gastrointestinal tract. The reason for this is thought to be because they look like 10 | Free Radicals | March 2018

marine life from for consumption, posing the question scientists are afraid of. Are we consuming plastic waste? Fish in the English Channel were found to have consumed micro plastics commonly, irrespective of their species and feeding habits. Sixty seven percent of fish tested in a USA fish market contained plastic debris. This is concerning and organisations such as the Department of Environment, food and rural affairs as well as charities around the world are only just starting to research the full extent of this problem. So far, they believe plastics can release toxic, organic chemicals, that occur naturally in the ocean, into the guts of the marine species once consumed, which could cause harm to them as well as humans, if eaten. Scientist believe microbeads within the human body can cause cell death, cross the blood-brain barrier, enter the placenta and alter gene expression. More research is needed, but nonetheless this is an unnerving thought.

The growing problem has triggered the UK government to produce a 25-year environment plan. They state to ‘Eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042’. They plan to urge industries to take more responsibility for their waste and produce products that are recyclable, as well as injecting funding into plastics innovation. Supermarkets are a big source of

plastics. Meats, cheese, fruits and vegetables of all kinds are wrapped and packaged in plastic and with the majority of the UK population using main stream shops, plastic waste from supermarket items produce 800,000 million tonnes of landfill waste per year.

The government will urge supermarkets to introduce plastic free isles as well as extending the 5p bag charge to all retailers across the UK. Priorities will also be to eliminate waste crime and littering and make a substantial reduction in litter, and reduce and prevent all marine plastic pollution.

It is estimated that 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the 1950s.

Research indicates that, without urgent action to cut demand, this is likely to be 34 billion tonnes by 2050.

So far, legislation to ban the production of products containing microbeads was passed on the 9th January 2018, which will aim to stop billions of microbeads ending up in the ocean every year. A good step in tackling the problem however, the ban on the sale of products containing microbeads will not come into force until later in 2018. The 5p carrier bag charge has taken 9 billion plastic bags out of circulation, and the government state the UK is now the leading country tackling plastic pollution. Across the UK, many cafes and supermarkets are also making pledges to stop using plastic straws, and many companies are switching to paper alternatives. Cities around the world are also banning carrier bags and other single-use items that are found in their masses around coastlines.

Charities, such as the Marine conservation society are making an impact with petitions urging for a tax on plastic takeaway items, educational talks and beach clean ups. New innovative companies are producing plastic

ENVIRONMENT

[opp] 500 million plastic straws are used in America everyday; [l] Asia produces 60% of all plastic waste worldwide; [r] British supermarkets produce 800,000 million tonnes of plastic waste from their aisles

alternatives, more options for recycling plastics and supermarkets are introducing waste free isles. World leading brands such as, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble, have already committed to removing microbeads from their products.

It seems the small changes rippling across the country will start to have a big effect. However, WWF (World Wildlife Fund) reports the environment plan is a good start but needs to be stronger, and move faster to end plastic waste. ‘If we wait until 2042 to end all plastic waste, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish’. They want to see a ban on single-use plastic by 2025 and state, ‘Everyone depends on nature. It underpins our economy and our wellbeing, from the food we eat to the air we breathe’. Greenpeace have also announced their concern of the plan stating ‘They need to roll out more robust measures to stop plastic waste harming the oceans’.

Be the change

Although the problem may be daunting, and charities fear the government’s plan won’t be effective enough, the changes happening all over the country are making a difference and individuals have also started reducing plastic in their everyday life. Here are some easy changes everyone can do to make a stand against plastic waste.

Tips for reducing plastic waste: 10 easy tricks.

1. Take your own bags to shop with and brown paper bags to put produce in 2. Keep up to date with local groups recycling options and petitions 3. Use local health food shops to pick up loose produce e.g. pasta, rice, nuts, dried fruit, oats etc.

4.

Buy loose fruit and vegetables from local shops 5. Always ask for no straw and suggest plastic free straw alternatives 6. Always come prepared with a reusable bottle of water and snacks to avoid buying last minute snacks and drinks on the go 7. Recycle carrier bags, plastic cereal bags and bread bags at local supermarket carrier bag drop off points 8. Visit Terracycle.com to recycle various items such as: Ella’s kitchen pouches, pens, cleaning products, beauty products, biscuit wrapper and more 9. Always bring your own takeaway cup 10. Use your own containers to buy meat, fish, cheese, and other deli products.

Making history

Without action the future could be bleak for the worlds oceans, with dangerous consequences for biodiversity and human health. If no action is taken there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.

However, it is not just the UK who should be concerned. Countries such as china who in 2013 produced 24.5% of the worlds plastics, 4.5% more than the whole of Europe. Asian countries are also responsible for a large contribution of sea pollution, they make up 60% of the worldwide plastic waste. Due to their rapid development they are producing large amounts of waste without the proper waste management practises in place to dispose of it. It instead ends up littered along the shorelines eventually ending up in the sea.

The future for plastic waste is unsure, but scientist Patricia Corcoran reports the age of a new rock formation may be upon us, where

plastic is becoming embedded in rock, forever preserving itself in geological history. Known as the ‘plastiglomerate’, this mix of sand, plastic and lava fragments could change the course of time. Lets hope our efforts now, turn the tide for future generations who will have, with any luck, found an alternative to plastic, that does not kill, contaminate or cost the earth.

Top tips If you’re really looking to get stuck in and make a difference you can join or start groups to raise awareness, clean up beaches and reduce home waste with challenges such as waste free months: n Go

to Greenpeace.co.uk to sign the petition for plastic free supermarkets.

n Go

to MCS.co.uk to sign the petition for a tax on plastic takeaway items.

n Go

to MCS.co.uk to join a beach clean-up near you.

n Visit

Terracycle.com.

n Join

the Facebook group ‘wastefreefeb’ created by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for tips on reducing plastic products at home.

n Find

new emerging zero waste shops in your area such as Zero Green now open in North Street, Bristol or unpackaged in London.

n There

are also online shops offering plastic free products such as plasticfreepantry.co.uk.

n Talk to friends, family and work colleagues to raise awareness and see what changes you can make and in the work place.

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 11

THE GREEN HOME Harley Williams investigates how going green can actually save our money!

12 | Free Radicals | March 2018

Š your copright line in here

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 13

It’s a splendid summer day, and I’m on my way to Broadway, a picturesque village found just on the border of Gloucester. My final destination, a period home nestled in the hills.

After a wrong turn (or two), I finally make it to the house. Moving up the driveway I see a honey coloured Cotswold cottage, wrapped in green ivy vines and surrounded by a sea of vibrant flower beds. A tall man opens the door - Garry Haddish. The owner of this retrofitted country home.

Garry, a local building contractor lives here with his wife Lisa and two children. Having worked in construction since the age of 20, he knows the many tricks of the trade and has witnessed how construction has changed over time. After the hellos and a bit of small talk (in which Garry tells me how excited he is for his home to feature in this month’s issue), we got down to business. I began by asking Garry what had prompted him to adapt his home, to encompass more sustainable elements.

“Well, I simply transformed my home to save money. I’ve seen people reap the benefits of investing in sustainable methods.

It very quickly pays for itself. Plus I get to feel good about saving the world and all that,” he chuckles.

With that the tour of the house begins, starting with the back garden. The garden is a rainbow of colours. Beautiful flowers and shrubbery line cute gravel paths, whilst vintage garden furniture beams golden in the sunlight, with a grand fountain at the centre of it all.

Smaller water bill

But this is not what Garry wanted to show me.

In the corner of the garden, next to the house is a large green tank. A pipe juts out of its top leading upwards the guttering. I know what this is.

“Rain water harvesting. Right?”

“That’s it,” replies Garry, “conserves up to 70 litres of potable water per person per day.

Definitely saves me a lot of money”.

I then inquire about how and where the rain water is used in Garry’s home.

“Well as you can probably tell, I collect water from my roof in this tank here. I know of some people who collect water from their lawns and pavements to. But I’m only harvesting water from my roof for now,” says Garry. “I water my garden with what the tank collects, probably the most common use of harvested rainwater I’ve seen. But that’s not all” he grins. I’m intrigued.

Leading me back inside, Garry takes me to the front hallway where the stairs are.

Under the stairs behind a door there is a small compartment. The perfect place for hiding secrets! Well, the secrets to saving money at 14 | Free Radicals | March 2018

least. Here water pipes emerge from the walls, then go into a strange looking apparatus, consisting of three flask like compartments with a water pressure gauge attached to the interconnecting pipe.

“This is a domestic water filtration system,” begins Garry “The rainwater from the pump outside can be pumped through here. The final product; clean water. It can then be pumped to various appliances around the house. Including my washing machine, toilet cisterns and dishwasher”.

Continuing with the subject of water, Garry then tells me of a new system he is currently working on to employ the use of grey water too.

“Grey water involves re-using water. You

produce electricity in his home.

“Well the panels contain photovoltaic cells that absorbs photons of light. Which then causes the release of negative electrons that repel each other. Their movement creates an electrical current,” explains Garry “simple really”.

He also uses solar thermal panels to heat water for his home.

“The water passes through the pipes on the solar panels. The water is heated in the pipes by the sun as it moves through. Then the hot water is transported to copper pipes on the side of my hot water tank. The heat is exchanged with the colder water I the tank via the process of convection”.

Such a system can generate up to 90% of

Well, I simply transformed my home to save money.

I’ve seen people reap the benefits of investing in sustainable methods. It very quickly pays for itself can directly tap the water from the bath, sink, washing machine etc or you can fit a valve to an external waste pipe which directs the water to a tank/ barrel. The water can then be treated in a pump unit by adding chlorine. Like rainwater, this grey water can be pumped all around the house and has various uses”.

Using grey water and harvesting rainwater?

Sure, seems like he’s saving a lot of money on his water bills. I’m definitely starting to warm up to this more sustainable way of life. At that point I was ready to learn more ways of saving money, (and the planet of course).

Continuing our construction conversation Gary tells me how he uses solar panels to

the hot water used on a domestic scale. Not to mention a standard 4KW solar panel can produce up to 3,400kWh of free electricity a year. To put that into context that’s enough electricity to power the fridge for 97,143 hours for example! As you can imagine there are major savings to be made if considering a solar system for our homes.

Keeping cool

Garry goes on to tell me that prevailing winds and compression differences can be used to naturally cool and ventilate a building.

“Placing ventilation inlets and outlets around the building makes air flow throughout

ENVIRONMENT

the house much more efficient,” says Garry “I’ve placed vents and windows on opposite sides of the house when possible. Crossventilation is the best form of wind ventilation.

Mechanical air conditioning can make up a large fraction of a building’s total energy use.

Natural ventilation doesn’t use of electrical fans. Again, this means I’m using less energy and therefore am conserving the world’s fossil fuel reserves and my money!”

Garry then goes on to talk about using a passive design.

“There are simple ways of using light passively,” says Garry. “You’d be amazed the difference seen by simply fitting larger windows in a house. I’ve not done that here.

However, I have fitted skylights,” he says pointing to the ceiling.

“Sunscreens are another popular way of using natural light efficiently,” continues Garry “they basically use diffuse light to brighten areas of the building that aren’t receiving much light. It’s all about maximizing the buildings exposure to the sunlight. It’s almost too easy.

The sun moves across the sky every day, very predictably, making it easy to exploit”.

I later find out that 35- 50% of electrical energy usage in domestic homes can be linked to lighting. So, utilizing natural light as much as possible is a must!

Well, I don’t know about you, but Garry has sure convinced me to build sustainably. I’m already planning in my head what I’m going to spend all my saved money on! Now sitting in the living room, Lisa brings out some tea and scones she and Garry had made earlier.

(They were delicious!). Refreshed Garry and I continue to delve into the sustainable construction topic.

“There are a lot of new techniques out

© South coast renewables 2018

© BH Tank Solutions 2016

[l] Picture showing rainwater catchment tank at Garry’s home; [r] Image showing solar panels; [opp] Diagram showing grey water and rainwater use in a domestic home

there now regarding new buildings,” says Garry “especially in regards to having resource conscious design. A closed material loop is an prime example. Basically, it involves using recycled materials or using materials that can be reused, such as aluminium and steel. Doing this means, the impact on the world’s material reserves is reduced and therefore less needs to be processed in factories. Not to mention you’ll probably find that, recycled materials are generally cheaper than virgin materials when it comes to consumer price”.

So, recycling doesn’t only apply to our bottles and cans. Something I’ve never really thought about before.

Old made new

“A lot more people seem to be interested in using brownfield sites. They’re basically old buildings that aren’t used anymore. An example of the top of head would be, the Finch Avenue motor lodge in London. It was derelict and damaged but was reclaimed and made into apartments. A friend of mine lives there. The apartments are lovely. Using brownfield sites normally means transport links are already in place and the core building structures are already in place. You can imagine the money this would save. In addition to that the environmental impacts associated with land clearance can be avoided”.

“Ah, good. At least the animals surrounding the project don’t receive that rather unpleasant eviction notice they all too often suffer”.

Money saved

Talking with a building professional has really opened my eyes (and hopefully yours), to the fact being green doesn’t always come at our expense. As we’ve found out, an investment

now can allow us to make major savings in the future. Furthermore, we’ve seen such practices can be used in new housing as well as older homes, meaning none of us need miss out on this opportunity to save money and the planet!

With the ever-lingering threat of climate change hanging over our heads, it’s good to see things are being done to try and reduce the impact of construction on the environment.

These methods help reduce carbon emissions, habitat loss and therefore loss of biodiversity.

It feels good to know future generations of my family may not be so doomed after all. Now, I’m off to Homebase, to buy my solar panel.

Jargon buster

Grey water: The relatively clean waste from baths, sinks, washing machines and other kitchen appliances.

Photovoltaic cells: A semiconductive diode that converts visible light into an electrical current.

Water filter: A device that removes impurities by lowering contamination in waste via a physical barrier that separates out coarse and fine particles.

Convection: Involves hotter materials rising and colder materials sinking. They interact leading to heat exchange.

KwH: Stand for kilo watt hour. Which can be defined as a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt of power sustained for one hour.

Ventilation: The provision of fresh air into a room.

Sustainable: To be able to maintain something at a continued level/ rate.

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 15

CSR - the questions

The need for transparency in the corporate world is not only important for public image – it’s important for our futures. Are targets alone enough to reduce large corporations’ environmental footprints?

16 | Free Radicals | March 2018

ENVIRONMENT

Source: Pexels

One of many aims for manufacturing industries in the developed world is to convert to a low-carbon economy

‘Consider these following facts: Walmart’s net revenue for 2014 - $482bn, was greater than the GDP of twenty-seven of the world’s economies. The company Black Rock currently manages over $4.5 trillion of assets, investing more than the total monetary reserves of any country in the world. Finally: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spends around $3.9bn every year on healthcare and development work - equivalent to the average amount spent by the World Health Organisation. What do these figures suggest?’

Asks Andreas Rache of Copenhagen Business School. In short, Rache concludes that there has been a sobering shift in power from governmental monopolies to privatised corporations. It is clear that these corporations hold a somewhat eco-political stance in society and welfare. The responsibilities held by

large transnational companies are extensive, but due to their size and reach, their actions have lead to a plethora of environmental and social issues. The question this article tackles is: are modern-day CSR objectives made by large multinational firms rigorous enough to compensate for environmental and social issues at the rates at which they are increasing?

First of all, what exactly is CSR? Financial Times define corporate social responsibility (CSR) as: “A business’ approach which contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits to all stakeholders”. In essence, this is the corporation’s effort to provide, to all of its stakeholders, a return on investment in terms of sustainable business practice involving elements such as health and safety, human rights, environmental effects and

contribution to economic development.

The lines between industrial operations and their socio-environmental consequences seem to be somewhat blurred, as most businesses (understandably) may not keep records of their negative impacts on society or the environment. After all, if these data were available in the public domain, many essential services may shut down as a result, as consumer ethics are rapidly becoming more influential with the rise of social media platforms. In other words, the company’s stakeholders are responsible for the growth of the company, and brand recognition is one major driver for business growth.

This issues mentioned have been subject of modern debate. Studies have recently analysed whether or not CSR objectives result in financial burden for their respective March 2018 | Free Radicals | 17

Source: Pexels

[r] A CSR/public relations disaster: The rusting remains of malpractice 1984, the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India. One of the worst environmental disasters to date arose as a result of complacency, exploitation and poor technological design; [opp] Climate Change: A context hazard exacerbated by GHG emissions – the source mostly industrial

corporation, which would likely influence their rigour. Sethi found that in a firm’s own country, the CSR environment, together with legal factors, have been found to determine the overall quality of their reports. Countries which run predominantly on common law exhibited higher reporting quality, in comparison to strictly code law countries.

What does this mean? Simply explained, businesses within countries which operate on

From a contextual standpoint, this decade has seen implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in 2016, the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) of the World Bank and G8 back in 2005 to monitor and reduce global deforestation rates. Although intergovernmental policies may not be quite as peremptory as national legislation might be, large corporations should be bound, by their

“We can’t manage what we can’t measure. So we’ve developed and implemented a monitoring system that captures energy and critical operations data” - Adobe not only code guidelines, but also court rulings, have published their CSR reports to a higher standard and with greater transparency in terms of their performance. Sethi also analysed the following facets of CSR disclosure: Bribery, corruption, environment, philanthropy and integrity assurance; finding bribery, corruption and integrity assurance to be less prevalent in common law countries with higher quality legal regimes. Interestingly the study also found that the size of a firm, be it large or small in terms of net worth, did not have any noticeable influence on their CSR ambitions. It is therefore apparent that CSR is dependent on three factors: Stakeholder pressures, legislation and the altruistic outlook of the company’s profile.

18 | Free Radicals | March 2018

own initiatives, to tackle issues which may be associated to those policies in their practices.

This may not merely be due to the fact that it’s in the interest of major global organisations, or just for the overall image of the business, but instead to make a positive contribution to all stakeholders involved in or associated with the business. The primary question here is: even if goals to reduce environmental impacts are met, are they actually effective enough, and moreover, can the benefits be measured?

Some of the largest global corporations have made quite plausible efforts in recent years to reduce their environmental impacts - some in rather intuitive ways. A good example is Coca-cola, who since 2014, have managed to increase their water efficiency

by 20% as a result of third party consultation . Astonishingly, since 2002, the technology company Adobe have managed to reduce their water use by 79%, electricity use by 50% and natural gas use by 30%, further announcing their goal to operate using 100% renewable sources of energy. These have resulted in positive appraisal from their numerous stakeholders and stand as positive role-models for other firms to look up to.

The company Nike has also become a prime advocate for sustainable practice. Since 2008, the company’s revenues have increased by 64% and have capped absolute emissions to only 20% growth in manufacturing, logistics and owned facilities. The CEO of Nike - Parker, claims this is a total decrease in carbon emissions of 19%. Their manufacturing processes operate within a closed loop system, by which recycling reduces waste. Parker states in Nike’s FT14-15 sustainability report: “We have continued our focus on decreasing waste dramatically. Today, Nike Grind – a palette of premium recycled materials – is used in 71% of NIKE footwear and apparel products, in everything from yarns and trims, to soccer kits and basketball shoes”.

Despite the success of some CSR initiatives, it seems that CSR falls short of meeting the needs of the world and its people in places where it is highly required. ‘One factor which is often overlooked as a major contributor of environmental degradation is the acquisition of land’ - claims Yusuf,

Source: Pexels

ENVIRONMENT

‘primarily in African countries’. They go on to say that petrochemical companies operating in the area, such as Exxon and Shell, exploit their local labour forces extensively, and in doing so breach several human right laws; particularly in Nigeria. The issues are not, however, limited to social injustice, but the prospecting of mineral resources, such as gold, coltan, diamonds and oil, has also had considerable detrimental impacts on local environments. The most saddening factor here is that local resistance to the issues is unlikely to change anything, due to the lack of modern civil society groups and furthermore, the apparent reasons why they are absent: Political corruption and poverty.

Have any countries made it legally binding for large businesses to give back to their communities? The answer is yes. Chhabra reported India as the first nation to enforce CSR as a legal requirement - the law taxing a 2% net profit contribution from its larger businesses to charities. Despite this, they state the enforcement of this law to be” quite vague”. It applies to companies with a net worth exceeding 5 billion Indian Rupees (54.76 million GBP or 80 million US Dollars), plus some additional financial factors, which concerned around 8000 companies in 2014.

A large Indian firm, ZMQ, had already commenced its altruistic approach in 2005 by launching a successful mobile video game to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic - which Quraishi, one of the developers of the game,

stated would have much more of a positive CSR impact than donating the 12% of net profits to charities - which in his own words is “Just a drop in the ocean”.

One of perhaps the most damaging business processes is the flooding of markets with subsidised foreign imports. This is a daunting issue, as not only is it poor economic practice (resulting in loss of revenue for private businesses of recipient nations), but in many cases has lead to environmental and social issues. Take Developing nations as an example, which have comparatively lenient environmental legislation in contrast to Developed nations such as the US. DDT - a considerably toxic pesticide, is still used in agricultural crop production in many third world countries, particularly in East Asia, but the largest quantities are produced and sold by multinational firms of MEDCs, who themselves ban its use knowing the detrimental effects of the substance.

The conclusion to be made here is that there is an apparent need for science to quantify the approximate levels of environmental degradation and social injustice in relation to CSR practice, in both code law and common law countries; as it is apparent that this data may be lacking. There are still reports which reflect some issues are ‘brushed under the carpet’ so to speak. Would it be beneficial if financial subsidies were approved for CSR by the governments of the home countries for smaller firms? Whilst this is open

to much debate, it certainly is food for thought.

Further reading Top 8 CSR Trends to Look Out For in 2018: by Susan McPherson of Forbes

Ives, J.H. (2017) ‘The Export of Hazard: Transnational Corporations and Environmental Control Issues’, Routledge

The Export of Hazard: Transnational Corporations and Environmental Control Issues, Routledge

Best Practices in Sustainability: Ford, Starbucks and More, The Guardian

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 19

Trump vs science Following the cascade of revoked acts and legislation on environmental policy by the current president, Eve Warner discusses how Trump is not only affecting the political climate, but the global climate

20 | Free Radicals | March 2018

ENVIRONMENT

© Joanne Jezequel

Exploitation of natural resources by the U.S.A. has increased with the presidency of Donald Trump, prompted by his changes to U.S. science and environmental policy

The thundering cheer and mass of crowds gathered in Washington D.C. during the inauguration of the 44th president welcoming Barack Obama into office was an occasion celebrated by many. In 2017, a comparatively smaller crowd assembled for Donald Trump’s inauguration. The apparent difference in popularity was mocked by the U.S. National Park Service on twitter. Trump’s months long campaign to presidency focused little on environmental issues, despite the heightened national discussion on threats to national security and environmental health. Obama’s presidency focused on the economy and health care, alongside growing awareness and research on climate change and the deteriorating environment. Obama’s focus on these issues lead to his legacy as an environmental president. During the last

years of his presidency, Obama passed various executive orders, set up grants and agencies to monitor and report on greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to prevent further climate change. Much of his work was dismantled and thrown out the window the moment he left office, the moment Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States. Trump’s administration has revoked environmental policies passed by the Obama administration, affecting not only the political climate, but the global climate.

As soon as the Trump administration took hold of the White House, references to climate change were expunged from government websites. The removal of evidence-based information on climate change from these websites was only the beginning of the changeover between political parties.

The U.S. Senate confirmed ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state in February 2017, with full knowledge of his extensive ties to fossil fuels and vague stance on climate change. Following Tillerson, the U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as head of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In past, Pruitt frequently sued the EPA over regulations, including the Clean Power Plan.

Pruitt then dismissed several members of the Board of Scientific Counsellors, an advisory board that reviews the research of climate change and other EPA research. The Trump administration continued to disband research groups and environmental research agencies, including the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment. The Trump administration then began to appoint various other individuals with a lack of concern for March 2018 | Free Radicals | 21

© Daniella Zalcman

[r] Trump’s attitude towards climate change has been criticized by scientists around the globe. Despite increasing evidence, he continues to ignore the pressing need for CO2 emission reduction; [opp] 87% of all human produced CO2 emissions is produced by the burning of fossil fuels

the environment into governing positions, setting the scene for many of the previous environmental acts, policies and agencies to be dismantled.

An agreement broken

Only two months into his presidency, Donald Trump pulled the U.S.A. out of the Paris climate agreement, previously set up by the Obama administration. Pulling out of this agreement foreshadows serious environmental consequences; projections of the additional

global temperature to rise by 3.6°C above preindustrial averages by 2100.

Part of the agreement involves funding pledges by each country involved to aid developing countries in reducing emissions.

Obama pledged $3 billion when the agreement was made in December 2015. $1 billion was transferred during Obama’s last term of presidency. With Trump pulling the U.S.A. out of the agreement, no further funds will be transferred. If all Paris pledges were to be followed, Climate Interactive calculates that by

The farther and faster the Earth system is pushed toward change, the greater the risk of unanticipated effects, which are large and irreversible carbon dioxide and global temperature rise caused by US decision bode an ominous future.

As part of the Paris agreement, the U.S. agreed to be responsible for decreasing emissions by 21% through to 2030. This ambitious target aimed to change the current standing of the U.S.A. as the biggest polluter in history. U.S. citizens are responsible for producing twice as much CO2 per capita compared with China.

With the abandonment of the agreement, Climate Interactive calculated that by 2025, the country will emit 6.7 GT of CO2 per year, a stark contrast compared to the 5.3 GT of CO2 per year goal set by the Paris agreement.

This will raise global emissions by 3%, causing 22 | Free Radicals | March 2018

2100 the world will be 3.3°C warmer than preindustrial times. Now the Paris agreement has been completely dropped, Climate Interactive calculates the world will be 4.2°C warmer by 2100. These predictions show the severity of temperature change that will arise as a result of Trump’s dropping of the agreement.

The increase in temperature would cause an avalanche of global issues; coastal flooding, changes in ocean circulation and local subsidence, larger precipitation events and extreme weather, heat waves, forest fires, drought, hurricanes, and atmospheric rivers are predicted to increase in severity and frequency due to the global temperature

rise. These disastrous effects will negatively impact human health, global agriculture, water availability and global plant and animal biodiversity. Many human diseases are linked to climate fluctuation. Current research predicts an increase in health risks under future projections of climate change.

Past research provides evidence that global warming trends caused by climate change contribute to increased morbidity and mortality around the globe. Global agriculture will be severely affected, as even relatively small changes in temperature can cause large changes in growing season length, soil moisture and general environment for crop production. Current rates and magnitude of plant and animal species extinction far exceed historical rates. The rates are predicted to increase with the unprecedented rate of climate change Statements from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment predict climate change to become one of the most significant drivers of biodiversity loss by the end of the century.

Increases in global temperature will lead to regional patterns of warming-induced changes, with regional increases and decreases in precipitation and runoff. Runoff is a measure of sustainable water availability. The saturation vapour pressure of water in air is highly sensitive to pressure, thus deviations of the global water cycle are predicted as a result of climate change. Research on the effect of climate change predict that by 2050 runoff will increase by 10-40% in eastern equatorial Africa,

© Nik Shuliahin

ENVIRONMENT

high-latitude North America and Eurasia.

While a 10-30% decrease in runoff is predicted in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America. Water availability is imperative for human health, economic activity, geophysical processes and ecosystem functions. Thus, such severe changes in water availability will have global-scale consequences for economies and ecosystems. The refusal of Trump to continue with the Paris agreement is only the tip of the iceberg, as his administration continues to revoke other acts, laws and agreements which protect the climate. Trump proposed rollbacks to U.S. programs designed to study and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The rollbacks include eliminating the EPA’s budget for climate-change research programs.

A statement made by Pruitt in February 2018 confirmed place a “back-to-basics” plan for the EPA, calling for a focus on maintaining air quality, implementing chemical-safety reforms, funding infrastructure for drinking water, and accelerating the cleanup of Superfund sites, a program responsible for cleaning up the nation’s most contaminated land. The plan fails to address CO2 levels or climate change.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coordinates research on current climate change and its physical effects. The NOAA published the Climate Science Special Report in November 2017, a stand-alone report analysing global data on the global climate. The CSSR confirmed a broad

scientific consensus, “the farther and faster the Earth system is pushed toward further change, the greater the risk of unanticipated effects, some of which are potentially large and irreversible”. The growing lack of CO2 emission restrictions will result in the increased rate of climate change, forcing the Earth’s climate to change rapidly. Trumps reluctance to continue support for research on climate change and protective measures against emission use only further fuel the fire of the global temperature rise.

The politics effect

The influence of politics on the global climate is substantial, as shown by the presidency of Trump. According to Sarah Pralle, shifting political opportunities, such as electoral turnover, “leads to rather dramatic agenda changes”. The agenda change between the Obama and Trump administrations is blatantly apparent. The Obama administration initiated the Paris agreement, established the Clean Power Plan, set high fuel economy standards, lead national discussions and debates about the issues and implications of climate change, while funding research on climate change issues. In comparison, the Trump administration has pulled the U.S.A. out of the Paris agreement, abandoned the Clean Power Plan, eased emissions standards on vehicles and revoked many restrictions on CO2 emissions.

The actions of the Trump administration will contribute largely to disastrous, global

effects. According to Pralle, “keeping climate change at the forefront of government decision agendas will be critical in the coming years because the climate change is a long-term problem and governments are unlikely to ‘solve’ the climate crisis with one policy enacted at one point in time”. The current political standpoint of the U.S.A. on climate change is that it does not exist. One-by-one Trump is removing protective measures on emissions and dismisses climate change from the governments agenda. Predictions on climate change warn of the consequences, yet the president will not listen.

Notable organisations Climate Interactive

a non-profit organization addressing climate change and related issues. l www.climateinteractive.org l

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

an American scientific agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that researches oceanic and atmospheric conditions. l www.noaa.gov/ l

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

an agency of the federal government of the U.S. which writes and enforces regulations based on laws passed by congress. The EPA was crated to protect human health and the environment. l www.epa.gov/ l

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 23

Understanding addiction Smoking and obesity rates in post treatment cancer patients are increasing through the roof, what can be done to help this?

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HEALTH & NUTRITION

Addiction. It’s a powerful word, but what does it really mean? Is it a weakness to stop from a certain habit or an inability to step away from the crippling and in some cases life threatening substance or behaviour? Moreover, what can be done to better understand the prolonged existence of these addictions when the consequence is a short life and a painful death?

Alcohol, smoking and eating addictions in post cancer treatment patients will be explored in this article and how they are affecting and debilitating their users. What we can do to help addicts and what they can do to help themselves, should be a top priority, so that we can help them break their addictions and lead them to live healthier, happier, more ordered lives without the risks of further cancers and tumours.

Smoking is a major example of a damaging

addiction. Yet a significant number of smokers being diagnosed with cancers of varying degrees, continue to smoke before, during and after treatment. This behaviour puzzles and infuriates me to the point of being intrigued by it. By which, I mean that if people cannot be convinced to quit an addiction after something as traumatic as chemotherapy (and most probably surgery), what could be done to help them quit? The rate at which people who have had cancers continue to smoke is 13% which in my eyes is at least 13% too high. If being faced with the terrible prospect of multiple cancers caused by these specific actions cannot break the addiction, then further research needs to be done to figure out a way of saving those who are afflicted by these addictions.

Having myself (a non-smoker) gone through the entire journey from diagnosis to

major surgery to chemotherapy to recovery, I cannot fathom what compels those within the population to smoke before or even after these ordeals. However, mine is just one personal perspective and such should be treated as a side in this issue. The real question here is why the other side of this issue does the opposite?

Smoking kills. It does, it causes cancers which either destroy the lives or kill those affected. Smokers are reminded of this every time they look at a packet be it cigarettes, cigars or just tobacco. Still they smoke, although I sympathise with these people because the main reason that they are compelled to ignore the warnings and the multiple studies about the health concerns of smoking, is because of the addiction that they are afflicted by.

Does addiction blind people to the various disadvantages of the activity that they enjoy?

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 25

© your copright line in here

Is it more apt to describe this behaviour as less of an addiction and more akin to a compulsion that the afflicted can’t hope to resist from?

But just what type of compulsion is it?

Is it along the same lines and thinking of adjusting objects in an obsessive-compulsive way? Is it more akin to the compulsions that a drug addict would have to relieve themselves from their pain and desire to feel ‘good’ or ‘pleasurable’ again? I believe that it is a mix of

to smoke and explore whether this can be overcome and how these helping methods can be implemented in their lives.

Worth the weight?

There are also growing rates of obesity especially in patients with cancer. The rates have gone up by 31% at least in the last 20 years. This, unlike the smoker’s burden, is reversible. It can be beaten whereas an

“Eating becomes a comfort exercise for most people during periods of traumatic events” both. Clearly, the nicotine within the tobacco creates the dependency and drug addiction, but is there also a compulsive desire of an obsessive nature to ignore the warnings on the packets and the literature that tells of the side effects and end game of this habit? Are smokers subconsciously compulsively avoiding suffering that comes from such a habit? I believe that they are, for it does not matter the cost for the addict, the pleasure will always supersede the consequences of doing so. However, if it is the case that people ignore their best interests to indulge their destructive habits, surely the best course of action is to not shame or fear monger but instead to help them come to terms with the addiction. In other words, to try to get to the roots of what drives them 26 | Free Radicals | March 2018

addiction to smoking is harder to treat.

Obesity. It’s a word that nobody really wants to hear but unlike smoking, which leaves irreversible effects, obesity can be beaten with a healthy diet and exercise. Though I sympathise with these people a lot more than that of the smoking population.

Cancer patients, especially post chemotherapy cancer patients, will want to try to stay happy to avoid the pitfalls and fissures of depression. However, it’s very difficult and many people choose food and a lack of exercise as their outlet to happiness. Because it feels good to binge on the things that you haven’t been allowed. Especially after a treatment like chemotherapy.

Many people are unaware of this, but

chemotherapy treatments require a lot of high calorie foods to complete, with different amounts depending on the dose. I for one had to have 6 weeks of high intensity BEP (Bleomycin, Etoposide and Cisplatin) chemotherapy. It destroys the body, but in a good way, if such a thing were possible. It is targeting all the cells of the body to kill off the cancerous ones. However, this requires a large amount of energy to sustain the patient and so the patient is likely to be having to ingest 4000+ calories a day, yet at the same time take no exercise (It’s rather hard to go jogging when tied to a drip). This, coupled with the general isolation that patients must contend with means that the act of stopping oneself from enjoying life after not, for such a long time. It may be too hard to resist especially depending on how long and rigorous the treatment has been. Therefore, the obesity rate in post treatment places individuals at an increased risk.

Eating becomes a comfort exercise for most people during periods of traumatic events. I would say that cancer and the treatment of said disease counts as a form of trauma. This comfort can turn into a habit if indulged in regularly enough. Therefore, post-surgery and post chemotherapy patients may exhibit a compulsion to continue to consume the same amounts of calories that they no longer require. This being due to the fact that after chemotherapy and surgeries the patient’s body needs the large number of additional calories.

© your copright line in here

HEALTH & NUTRITION

This would lead to dramatic weight gains as the body’s metabolism struggles to keep up with the fuel being added to the body.

The bottom line is that if the body takes in more calories than it gets rid of through cell growth, living in general and exercise, it will gain weight. Whereas if it only consumes enough calories required to meet the level of exercise and living during the day the body will stay at a healthy weight. This means that due to the patients either using eating as a coping mechanism or just eating too many calories, the body is increasing in fatty tissue, to the point of becoming obese.

Smoking has decreased in popularity as of late, somewhat due to the law banning the act of smoking indoors and in certain public spaces, this has to a large extent relegated the act of smoking and made it an activity abandoned by the vast majority of society. The question is, could the same techniques or laws be levelled against the over eating and drinking that our society seems to indulge in? This could perhaps be implemented by restricting portion size in public places or cutting people off from bars when they have consumed too much food or alcoholic beverages. Increasing the amount exercise that overweight or at-risk individuals partake in should be a top priority not just for the government but for those afflicted by obesity. Doubling the levels of physical exercises that these people do daily would contribute heavily to the loss of weight that these people should be aiming for to remain

healthy.

Finishing up

To conclude, obesity and smoking have been shown to be the top two causes of cancer other than naturally occurring cancers and cancers that come from over consumption of alcoholic beverages and destructive substances such as narcotics. Which means that there is a significant chance that post chemotherapy and surgery patients will develop other cancers, from the continuation of unhealthy lifestyle practices. In my opinion, the help that is provided for after treatment care should include stricter warnings and plans the cut out or try to limit the amounts of unhealthy practices that could lead to further health complications. This could save a patient from additional health complaints and more lifethreatening cancer in their future and would most likely reduce the currently growing rates of both obesity and smoking in the post-cancer community.

About the author In late 2016 the author of this piece was diagnosed with a rare but treatable cancer.

This lead to a quickly arranged surgery and 6 weeks of high intensity chemotherapy.

Through perseverance the author has mostly recovered but still struggles with certain impacts of the treatment to this day.

Further reading National Cancer Institute (2018) ‘Cancer Survivors and Obesity’ ‘Cancer Survivors and Smoking’ Hughes, J. (2003) ‘Motivating and Helping Smokers to Stop Smoking’ Journal of General Internal Medicine Benowitz, N. (2010) ‘Nicotine Addiction.’

The New England Journal of Medicine

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 27

Sweet evolution What happens when evolution cannot keep up with all the food? Find out how cravings help to keep us alive and why it sometimes goes wrong

Joe was the odd one in his tribe with an uncommon sweet craving and when he saw some ripe grapes, he ate some and kept on eating even after his stomach was full. Next day he returned and kept on eating, feeling hungry and looking for more food. This behaviour seemed odd for others in his hunter gatherer community, who also ate some but felt full after short while. The cycle repeated for a couple of weeks, until the fruits were eaten and then everything returned to the usual rhythm.

By that time Joe had gained some weight and as the winter arrived Joe was hunting together with others. As the winter progressed some members of the tribe fell ill, some were weakened by hunger, but Joe was fine. After weeks of finding only small pray, some tribe members died while Joe was still feeling good.

And so, Joe survived the winter when many others perished, passing along his genes. If these tribe members would live in today’s environment the roles would be reversed.

28 | Free Radicals | March 2018

People who did not crave sweet flavours would be in prime health condition while Joe could be heavily overweight. What has changed?

Let’s take a closer look at what evolutionary adaptations Joe’s ancestors went through.

Joe’s closest relatives are great apes. Great apes are herbivorous but, on some occasions, they also consume meat. However, there is a problem with relying on plants. Great apes diet mostly consisted of plants, but this works only in the rainforest where the plants are available all the time. Even in the rainforest the plants growth is reliant on the environment. Plants need certain amounts of sun, rain, and optimal temperature but in rainforests the climate varies between dry and wet season, making preferred food sources such as fruits available only for a limited time and during the dry season food becomes scarce. Especially fruits that have been main the source of food for human ancestors before homo erectus. Homo erectus had a genetic adaptation to make them

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Cocaine or sugar: which is more addictive?

March 2018 | Free Radicals | 29

first bipedal ancestors Joe had. They were more adapted for running and a shorter digestive tract made faster protein digestion possible.

This meant that adapting to eat meat made homo erectus less dependent on environment and gave them more options during times of food scarcity.

Meat or plants

Joe had one big advantage for being able to digest protein quickly. Meat is available all year round while the plant sources vary depending on the seasons. The protein available in meat is essential for human survival. The protein in meat is also easy to digest compared to the plant based protein sources. Moreover, the animals products contain more fat and that provides more energy compared to the protein and carbohydrates digestion.

30 | Free Radicals | March 2018

This makes fat ideal for energy storage. The increased variability in food intake makes it easier to have high quality food and this has been essential in brain development. Larger brains are essential for hunting and this made simple cooperation in communities possible.

When Joe’s predecessors migrated from Africa, the climate became more varied and seasons more pronounced, then the adaptation became a matter of life or death. This shows that adapting to eat meat and fat gave evolutionary advantage during times of food scarcity and it was essential for large scale migration into areas with more varying climate.

However, evolutionary adaption to digest protein has been a trade-off, if Joe were able to digest cellulose, the most abundant food source, he could just eat grass. Joe still needs vitamins, minerals, and fibre that is available

in plants. Leafy greens are available for most of the year, but they do not give much energy.

The digestive tract Joe has just cannot extract the energy available in fibre rich plants quickly enough. When there are no other foods around, it can help to survive but it is not enough to thrive. To survive in the periods of low food availability animals store energy as fat in their body and same is true for Joe. This makes it possible to recover from the injuries and illnesses relying on internal energy storages and when Joe has no luck in hunting for couple of weeks, he can still survive, and internal energy stores have a crucial role.

Glycemic index

Foods are digested at different speeds. The more fibre and less sugar plants contain the more time it takes to digest, and the less energy

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Do you want to know why eating comfort foods is not the best strategy for stress relief?

duration even shorter. If Joe would miss this timeframe, it would greatly diminish his likelihood for survival and Joe’s physiology is well adopted to use this opportunity to his best advantage.

Action within

When Joe finds some ripe grapes and decides to eat those, the first thing he experiences is a sweet flavour. With the help of dopamine, his brain quickly makes a connection between eating a grape and the pleasurable sweet flavour making it even more addictive than cocaine. When the connection is made, Joe feels anticipatory reward just from seeing the grapes, making him eat even more. Foods

available. To improve the flavour of different products, the fibre has been removed. This increases the glycemic index because fibre slows down the digestion process. Moreover, many food products are manufactured to reach bliss point. Bliss point takes advantage of our biological preferences and it is carefully optimised to contain ideal amount of sugar to maximise consumption and together with reduced fibre content, over consumption can almost be guaranteed.

If Joe were living in the21st century, he would have a decent breakfast, orange juice and breakfast cereals. Both orange juice and breakfast cereal have high GI along with most processed foods. This dramatically raises blood

Bliss point takes advantage of our biological preferences and it is carefully optimised to contain ideal amount of sugar to maximise consumption

is extracted. Foods that take a long time to be digested have a low glycemic index (GI) and foods that are digested quickly have a high GI. The maximum glycemic index of 100 equals the digestion speed of pure glucose.

Most available plants have medium and low GI levels. This means that these foods provide energy consistently for a long time period.

High GI foods are digested rapidly, but most plants have enough fibre to slow the digestion process. Even during autumn when abundant quantities of plant-based food sources are available only a few of the available plants are low in fibre and rich in sugar. These plants are easily digested and therefore are great resources to build energy stores. However, fruits are ripe only for a limited time before going bad. Moreover, other animals and birds also like sugar rich plants making availability

with high glycemic index (GI) like grapes, dramatically rise blood sugar and insulin levels and then rapidly decrease both after storing energy. While the low GI whole foods take six to eight hours to digest, high GI processed foods are digested in sixty to ninety minutes.

This change in blood sugar levels puts pressure on the adrenal glands that have to work hard to make necessary stress hormone, cortisol, that signals the release of glucose from the muscles and liver to fuel the brain. The cortisol levels stay elevated until the next meal. Most sweet food sources are small sized, but they are in close proximity and, having higher stress levels makes Joe more attentive and therefore he can find even more high GI food. As the cycle continues Joe builds up insulin resistance that makes it even easier to gain weight. When the season is over and high GI foods are not available anymore, Joe has some spare energy.

The insulin resistance that was beneficial for gaining weight can be dangerous when the available food sources are scarce. To counter this, the body releases hormone, adiponectin that reverses the insulin resistance process, to be more sensitive about when and how much energy should be stored, and how much should be used. This shows how well different hormones work together to increase the chance of survival during the winter.

Food with industries

Change in our diet has been so rapid that our brain still interprets sugar as essential to increase chance for survival, but the dietary environment has changed. Nowadays there are wide array of different processed foods

sugar levels following with rapid decline, meanwhile insulin signals the body to store excess energy and when it is all stored, the adrenal glands have to work hard to make all the necessary cortisol to keep the blood sugar levels stable. The strong sweet flavours are also addictive and together with cortisol’s effect of lowering the executive function Joe will have some sweet snacks to get rid of the hunger. This creates another cycle of blood sugar fluctuation. Moreover, the majority of sweets contain fructose. This has many alternative names and it can be found in ice teas to chocolate bars. The regular table sugar (sucrose) has 50% fructose and when a fructose is exposed to fat, it initiates a process where cortisone, a weaker stress hormone, is converted into cortisol. This makes Joe more stressed and able to survive long periods of food shortage. During lunch Joe eats some sandwiches. Again, another rapid fluctuation in blood sugar levels and finally when the evening arrives, a body full of cortisol decreasing the executive functioning, Joe orders a pizza. And it also has a high GI. All the rapid changes in blood sugar levels signals the brain that this is great opportunity to save some energy for the later use. However, the winter Joe’s body is preparing for, is not coming.

About the author

While struggling with sugar addiction the author thought about his own irrationality when it comes to amazingly delicious sweets and the search for the answer led him from evolution to hormones.

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Dangerous diet trends Whilst increasing numbers of young women are changing their diets in pursuit of health and wellbeing, the government is failing to raise awareness of the risks to future generations

Veganism, gluten free, dairy free and paleo are all diets based on the elimination of food groups. And they are gaining popularity, as market researchers Mintel predict the “freefrom” market will be worth £673 million in 2020. Many of those who follow a restrictive diet say it makes them feel better and healthier, a finding termed the “health halo effect”. But these diets are putting many people at risk of nutritional deficiencies. Especially young women, almost half of whom are deficient in vitamins and minerals. Iodine deficiency is one such problem that can have devastating consequences. Universally, it is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation, affecting those born to iodine deficient mothers. Concerns have been raised following results in the 2016 National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) that reported over one quarter of 11-18-year-old girls are iodine deficient – an issue which must be addressed as they may become mothers of future generations.

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The UK recommended intake for iodine is 140μg a day for adults. Milk is the major dietary source, contributing to 33% of intake whilst other sources include fish, shellfish and seaweed. Iodine forms an essential component of thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) which help regulate metabolic rate, and both physical and mental development. Symptoms of deficiency include goitre caused by an enlarged thyroid gland, cardiac complications and mental retardation.

Crucially, during the first trimester of pregnancy, the mother’s thyroid gland needs to increase hormone production as foetal brain development is entirely reliant upon maternal thyroid hormones. Therefore, a deficiency directly effects the neurodevelopment of the unborn child. The rise in iodine deficiency amongst teenage girls and the trend in restrictive diets poses significant risk to future generations, however, Public Health England have neglected the issue by failing to raise

HEALTH & NUTRITION

The majority of pregnant women in the UK are unaware of the importance of including iodine in their diets, and its contribution to healthy foetal brain development

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This picture of health may be misleading as vital nutrients that are needed during pregnancy are excluded from a vegan diet

awareness through campaigns, and not for the first time. Since the identification of these diseases, the UK government has failed to act.

The link between iodine deficiency and goitre was established by French chemist Chatin in the mid-19th century. By 1900 it was realised that a severe form of mental retardation, known as cretinism, resulted from severe iodine deficiency. Research in the early 20th century led to the addition of iodine to salt as a public health measure in many countries, but not in the UK. In the 1930s, changes in dairy farming resulted in increased iodine levels in milk. The government declared that population intake was adequate, and discontinued the assessment of iodine status. In 1980 the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that up to 60% of the world population was deficient 34 | Free Radicals | March 2018

in iodine, leading to further salt iodisation programmes that were mandatory in many countries, but only discretionary in the UK. Whilst most developed countries continued to monitor population iodine status and maintain healthy levels, the UK failed to address the issue until 2011 when Dr Mark Vanderpump and his research team assessed iodine status amongst UK school girls. Results of the study revealed the UK to be the 7th most iodine deficient nation. Despite these findings, a report published by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) stated that evidence was insufficient to justify an increase in recommended levels. The committee has since been criticised for being out of step on the issue and not tackling a problem so easily preventable. This sentiment has been echoed by the WHO which increased its recommended

level of iodine to 150Îźg a day for adults and 250Îźg a day for pregnant and lactating women due to links between maternal iodine deficiency and low child IQ. Countries such as Germany, Switzerland and The Netherlands adopted these guidelines which leads us to question why the issue has been ignored by the UK government for so long.

Iodine deficiency in the UK

The government’s failure to issue a public health campaign is of grave concern. Whilst most adults can tolerate mild iodine deficiency due to adaptations of the thyroid gland, it is a significant issue amongst young women who are unaware of the consequences during pregnancy. In the most severe cases, iodine deficiency can result in spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, however deficiency in the UK

HEALTH & NUTRITION

years of age. Whilst iodine deficiency is increasing in the UK, milk consumption has decreased as Mintel report that up to 23% of the British population drink dairy free alternatives. 27% of those surveyed believed that plant-based milks were healthier than cow’s milk, and 8% claimed that cow’s milk made them feel unwell. In addition, The Vegan Society has reported a 360% increase in veganism over the last 10 years. Data shows that a high proportion of vegans are women of child-bearing age as 63% are female and almost half the vegan population are 15 – 34 years old. Although The Vegan Society advocate iodine supplementation, experts warn that some supplements are unsafe as they contain toxic levels of iodine. Researchers in Norway tested supplements consumed by

diets should be followed with caution and knowledge of the consequences to health.

Public Health England continually campaign to raise awareness of diet in relation to chronic diseases, however, deficiencies arising from restrictive diets must also be addressed to reduce health risks amongst future generations.

Margaret Rayman, professor of nutritional medicine at Surrey University is an expert in this area and has researched the effects of maternal iodine deficiency for many years.

She has highlighted the dangers of iodine deficiency during pregnancy, particularly amongst vegan women, and illustrates this in a case study involving a woman who became vegan one year prior to pregnancy.

She developed goitre during pregnancy and her baby was born underweight. Animal

Whilst most developed countries continued to monitor population iodine status and maintain healthy levels, the UK failed to address the issue until 2011 vegan women during pregnancy that derived from a type of seaweed known as kelp. Iodine levels were found to be dangerously high, even though labelling information stated each tablet provided 150μg per day. There are many safe iodine supplements available, but lack of public awareness and absence of standardisation means there is a risk of consuming dangerous levels of iodine. This only reinforces the case for government action to promote dietary advice and provide safe supplements to those who need them.

A risk to pregnant women has been identified as mild to moderate. The scale of mild to moderate deficiency was highlighted in 2013 using data from The Avon and Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Iodine status was examined in 1040 women during the first three months of pregnancy and assessment of their child’s IQ was carried out at eight years old. Results showed that the mothers were iodine deficient.

It was found that women consuming less than 150μg a day in pregnancy were at greater risk of having a child with impaired cognitive development and low verbal and reading IQ. These findings are supported in other studies with recent research by Norwegian scientists showing an association between low maternal iodine intake and increased Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptom scores in children at eight

Whilst the NHS highlights the importance of some vitamins and minerals in vegan diets, iodine is not mentioned. Maternal dietary guidelines stress the importance of vitamin D and folic acid supplementation but fail to mention the importance of iodine during pregnancy, posing a further risk to women who may already be deficient.

Research states that primary motivators for supplementation in pregnancy are the perceived benefits to foetal and maternal health, however only 12% of women are aware of iodine recommendations during pregnancy. This demonstrates that raising awareness of health issues is highly effective in influencing nutritional intake and is a critical step that has been missed by the government, exposing many young women to iodine deficiency in pregnancy. Whilst reasons for eating restrictive diets must be respected, veganism and other dairy excluding

products were introduced into her diet after breastfeeding for 10 months, but she was upset that she may have compromised her baby’s development. She was unaware of the deficiency in her diet, which she believed was very healthy. In a recent BBC Radio 4 interview, Professor Rayman expressed her concern about restrictive diets, stating, “Whilst there is chronic iodine deficiency in around 20 developing countries, in the industrialised world we have a milder form of deficiency, not caused by lack of availability of iodine containing foods, but by a conscious choice not to consume them”. She acknowledges the lack of government action and has called for more scientific research to show evidence of iodine deficiency in the UK, adding, “Without trial findings it will be difficult to persuade the government to give women the advice they need”.

Perhaps another way to convince the government to act is to present the cost saving that could be made. A 2015 study published in The Lancet by UK researchers concluded that iodine supplementation in pregnancy would be potentially cost saving for both the National Health Service, and society as a whole. It was estimated that a saving of almost £5000 per pregnancy could be made. Surely it is time for the government to follow the actions of other nations and tackle the problem of iodine deficiency by issuing a public health campaign.

At the very least, safe iodine supplementation should be offered during pregnancy to protect future generations.

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MUSCLE

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HEALTH & NUTRITION

GROWTH 101 Building muscle is a complex process at a cellular level. Paul Isaacs explains what’s going on beneath the surface

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If you’ve ever wondered about hypertrophy, it can be defined as “the enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in the size of its cells”. For the purpose of this article we’re primarily concerned with skeletal tissue or skeletal muscle and what drives its growth.

Many of us associated with sport, health and fitness pursue skeletal muscle growth. There are the strength and power athletes such as rugby players, martial artists or powerlifters.

There are also the bodybuilders who are judged on the quantity and quality of their muscle, and then the recreational lifters who wish to improve their strength and fitness or maybe just aspire to look great naked. Some would even argue that stronger and faster people are much harder to kill. Bear with me as I delve into the science of muscle growth, starting with the constituents of skeletal muscle and its contraction.

Skeletal muscle functions to cause body movement via contraction and provides stability for body posture. It consists of many cells called muscle fibres or myofibrils.

Myofibrils are known as the building blocks

of protein synthesis exceeds that of muscle protein breakdown. For this to happen, sufficient dietary protein is needed as is a preferable caloric surplus. But what facilitates

If you’ve ever experienced post workout soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) then you’ve experienced muscle damage of muscle and contain units called sarcomeres (meaning fleshy part) which give the muscle its striated appearance. Myofibrils consist of thick and thin filaments. The former is composed of myosin whilst the latter, of actin. These two proteins are known as contractile proteins due to their involvement in the contraction of skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscles contract upon receiving signals via motor neurons, activated from a part of the muscle cell called the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Skeletal muscles contract when the myosin and actin filaments slide over one another, shortening the sarcomeres. The more efficient we become at activating motor neurons, the more efficient (the stronger) the contraction. This also means we can recruit more muscle fibres and become stronger. Now, let’s look at how weight training affects these fibres.

When we lift weights our muscle fibres get damaged and undergo a cellular process which enable them to fuse. This process increases the size and number of myosin and actin plus each individual muscle fibre and total number of sarcomeres. This results in an increase in the diameter of each individual fibre, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of the muscle. This is known as myofibrillar hypertrophy and occurs whenever the rate 38 | Free Radicals | March 2018

this fusion?

The maintenance and repair of skeletal muscle is carried out by satellite cells located upon the outer surface of the muscle fibre (hence the name, satellite). This process is what increases the size and number of myosin and actin. Satellite cells are comprised of a single nucleus with little cytoplasm and typically lie dormant. When muscle fibres are damaged through weight training, satellite cells become activated and multiply in number. They then fuse to the damaged muscle fibre, donating their nuclei as part of the regeneration process.

Satellite cell activation and multiplication lasts for around 48 hours after fibre damage has occurred.

To continue growing muscle, we need to apply more systematic stress than what our body is previously used to. This results in a disruption of homeostasis within the body and is facilitated by 3 interrelated mechanisms shown to propel muscle growth.

Mechanical tension

The most important of the three, mechanical tension or muscle tension can be achieved by progressively lifting heavier weights (making us stronger). This further tension promotes chemical changes within the muscle, allowing

for growth factors including the activation of many myogenic pathways and satellite cells.

Mechanical tension is best achieved by lifting loads between 75-90% of our 1 repetition maximum or 1RM (the most amount of weight we can lift once) which is usually 3-8 repetitions.

Metabolic stress

This mechanism involves the accumulation of metabolites such as lactate, inorganic phosphate and creatine amongst others. It is thought that metabolic stress can contribute to hypertrophy without necessarily increasing the size of the myofibrils. This type of growth is known as sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and is thought to result from increased sarcoplasmic fluid (in the form of glycogen, water and minerals) and connective tissue growth which lead to the swelling of the muscle cell.

Through sarcoplasmic growth a muscle can appear larger but is not necessarily stronger.

Metabolic stress can be best achieved lifting loads between 50-65% of our 1RM, around 1220+ repetitions performed to failure.

Muscle damage

If you’ve ever experienced post workout soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) then you’ve experienced muscle damage. This damage results from microscopic tears in the myofibrils which inhibit the release of inflammatory molecules and immune system cells. This process also activates satellite cells. Feeling mildly sore for 2-3 days post workout is normal but soreness beyond this point can be detrimental to muscle growth.

When it comes to muscle damage, we want to stimulate, not annihilate the muscle. Although both concentric and isometric exercise

HEALTH & NUTRITION

[l] Adequate nutrition is required to aid our muscle growth endeavours; [r] Weight training also boosts joint health, builds denser bones and improves heart health

can lead to muscle damage, it is thought that eccentric exercise (when the muscle is lengthened or stretched) is the main culprit.

Muscle damage can be achieved effectively lifting loads that are typically within 65-75% of our 1RM (around 8-12 repetitions) and by focusing on slow eccentric contractions. The symptoms of muscle damage can be blunted by regular weight training (due to what is known as the repeated bout effect) but if the damage is present within the muscle cells the inflammatory response and activation of satellite cells will still occur.

Hormones play an important role in regulating satellite cells and due to this, are largely responsible for the growth and repair of skeletal muscle fibres. Many hormones contribute to muscle hypertrophy however, 2 of the most vital is the growth factor: insulin like growth factor - 1 (IGF-1) and the male sex hormone, testosterone.

IGF-1 is elevated substantially in the presence of systematic stress and has been shown to enhance protein synthesis and the uptake of glucose. It is also involved in the activation of satellite cells.

Testosterone enhances protein synthesis whilst preventing protein breakdown. It can also stimulate other anabolic hormones such as growth hormone and increases satellite cell activity. Around 98% of testosterone is not available for use (bound in the body). Weight training allows us to release more testosterone whilst increasing the sensitivity of muscle cell receptors to this freed testosterone. The presence of testosterone can also activate skeletal tissue growth by increasing the number of neurotransmitters at the site of the damaged fibre.

Certain factors are going to affect the

amount of muscle an individual can gain and the speed at which they can gain it.

For example, men have higher levels of testosterone than women so their potential for growth will always be greater. Also, levels of testosterone peak and naturally decrease from around the age of 30 so growth beyond this point will be harder but not impossible.

Gender and age are not the only factors affecting muscle growth. Our training age (how long we have been lifting) will also affect our growth rate with most of our hypertrophy occurring within the first couple of years.

Finally, genetics will be the most important factor of all. Our genetic makeup will affect the type and number of muscle fibres that we possess (how much muscle we start with) and the rate at which satellite cells are activated.

Let’s finish by looking at how we can apply this science to our training in order to maximise muscle growth

Applying the science

When we first start weight training, most of our initial strength will be gained through nervous system adaptations just like when we learn new motor skills. Within a few months, hypertrophy will then become the dominant factor in our training. Beyond this point, the application of the science becomes all the more important. To maximise muscle growth, we need to continually get stronger over time whilst accumulating enough volume (total work) to drive this growth. By getting stronger in low, medium and high repetition ranges, fatiguing our muscles and changing our exercises continually so more total muscle fibres get damaged, will allow us to utilise mechanical tension and metabolic stress whilst achieving sufficient muscle damage. A

sweet spot for these mechanisms will likely exist and this will differ amongst individuals.

Finding that sweet spot is where the fun lies.

However, muscles do not grow in the gym.

When our work is done, we need adequate rest and nutrition, so they can regenerate and grow. What to do in between our workouts to maximise growth is worthy of its own article but for now, this has been the science of skeletal muscle growth.

Brad Scheonfeld

Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, CSCS, CSPS, FNSCA, is an internationally renowned fitness professional and widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on body composition optimization. The 2011 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year is a lifetime drug-free bodybuilder who has won numerous natural bodybuilding titles. As a personal trainer, Schoenfeld has worked with numerous elite-level physique athletes, including many top pros. Also, he was elected to the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Board of Directors in 2012 and was the recipient of the 2016 Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitnss Award, presented for outstanding achievement in fitness and contributions to the growth and development of sport fitness through outstanding leadership activity...

Schoenfeld earned his PhD in health promotion and wellness at Rocky Mountain University, where his research focused on elucidating the mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and serves on the editorial advisory boards for several journals, including the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. He is an assistant professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York, and heads their human performance laboratory.

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ce to explore