June 2010

JUNE 2010

2115 PIE

DM

ON

TTHE W3 LIFESTYLEM I N I Z I N E

ON THE

LIVEHEALTHYJune 26th & 27thCobb GalleriaLive Healthy & Thrive EXPOChance for Free Tickets Inside

INSIDEWellness TipsFinancial TipsCommunity NewsEvent CalendarMovie ReviewsRestaurant ReviewsShopping IdeasSpecial Offers...and much more!

2010 Event Calendar Inside

GREENPiedmont Park

SCREEN

Every Thursday, May 27th - June 24th

Photography by James Duckworth

2 W3 LIFESTYLE - 2115 PIEDMONT - CALENDAR

SWEET & STYLISH PARTYCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

JAZZ UNDER THE STARSCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

WELLNESS & SPA EXPOCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

DIVE IN MOVIE NIGHTCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

POOL SPLASH BASHCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

Health & Wellness ExpoCOMING SOON

Pool Splash Bash COMING SOON

Dive-In Movie COMING SOON

Jazz Under the Stars COMING SOON

Casino Night COMING SOON

Holiday Party COMING SOON

WELLNESS & SPA EXPOCOMING SOON - DATE TBA

Letter from the Manager,

As a W3 Lifestyle designated community our residents receive special discounts and incentives at various retailers and service providers all over Atlanta. Periodically we email these specials out to our residents as well as list them on our Community Facebook page. Some specials are time sensitive so the best way for us to communicate them to you is directly via email. Please make sure we have your current email address on record at the Leasing Office to make sure you do not miss out on these great opportunities. We will also email you every month when your Community Minizine is published online for your viewing pleasure.

We have been designated as the Best of The Best in apartment communities by committing to defined criteria with W3 Lifestyle. Along with this designation come many resident benefits and services. We hope to see you at our next Community Event so that we can show you how much we appreciate our residents…and most importantly – how much we appreciate YOU!

See something in your Community Minizine that you think would interest a friend or family member? Feel free to forward it to anyone you know and share some of the valuable article information and event dates. After all, not everyone is as lucky as you are to live in a W3 Lifestyle designated community – make them jealous and show what your community does for YOU!

2115 PiedmontCommunity Manager:

Chad Buckles

Assistant Community Manager:Demetrius Kelly

Leasing Consultants: Ja’ddah Lee

Christopher Gillam

Maintenance Manager: Rodney Wilken

Mainteance Technicians:

Mark Stovall

Phone(404) 575-2115

Fax(404) 876-1997

Email

[email protected] Website

www.2115piedmont.com

Newsletter Advertising Inquiries

Marci Alt

[email protected]

Have a Review You Would Like to Share?

Share with us your experience with a Movie, Restaurant, Night Club, or anything else you think your neighbors could benefit from.

Email Your Review to: [email protected]

Once your review is emailed it becomes property of W3 Lifestyle,

LLC and may be published.

COMMUNITY INFO - W3 LIFESTYLE 3

VISIT OUR PROPERTY PAGE

W3 FAN PAGE

The primary focus of W3 LifesTyLe is and aLWays WiLL be designaTing The besT of The besT in aparTmenT communiTies aLL over The counTry. WiTh This LeveL of commiTmenT To assisT aparTmenT renTers in finding The besT possibLe communiTy To caLL home based on Their LifesTyLe, iT Was deTermined ThaT parTnering WiTh an adverTising company To heLp LocaL businesses markeT Their services/producTs via The communiTy minizine WouLd be mosT effecTive.

iT is WiTh much exciTemenT To announce The parTnership of services beTWeen W3 LifesTyLe and carma producTions. carma producTions has been in The naTionaL markeTpLace for over 20 years and assisTed LiTeraLLy Thousands of adverTisers groW Their businesses and increase Their brand recogniTion. business

oWners are aLWays Looking for neW and creaTive Ways To adverTise Their business and groW.

WiTh neW adverTising avenues being feW and far beTWeen, our unique approach To niche markeTing adverTisings coupLed WiTh raTes far beLoW ThaT of any simiLar markeTing venue, makes iT difficuLT for smarT business peopLe To resisT markeTing Their producT/services direcTLy To residenTs aT vaLued W3 LifesTyLe communiTies.

for more informaTion on markeTing opporTuniTies, pLease conTacT marci aLT WiTh carma producTions aT 404-377-4297 or visiT onLine aT WWW.W3LifesTyLe.com.

LETTER FROM W3 - W3 LIFESTYLE 5

W3 LIFESTYLE parTners WiTh carma producTions

neW york (cnnmoney.com) -- in The never-ending baTTLe beTWeen crediT card companies and Their cusTomers over inTeresT raTes, consumers sTiLL hoLd aT LeasT some of The cards.

even as issuers have goTTen squeezed by hisToric Loan Losses and hogTied by neW federaL ruLes inTroduced earLier This year, experTs suggesT ThaT card-carrying americans sTiLL have pLenTy of LeeWay To negoTiaTe a LoWer raTe.

“i Think [card companies] WiLL be jusT as WiLLing noW as They have been,” said nick bourke, direcTor of The safe crediT cards projecT aT The peW chariTabLe TrusTs.

in The pasT, mosT cardhoLders had LiTTLe difficuLTy barTering WiTh Their bank on Their annuaL percenTage raTe.

buT ThaT seemed due To change afTer congress passed major neW ruLes for The indusTry in february WiTh The card acT.

as parT of The neW LaW, crediT card companies Were prevenTed from pracTices such as “doubLe-cycLe biLLing” and arbiTrary raTe increases.

before LaWmakers had even drafTed a biLL, The banking indusTry Warned congress ThaT a neW LaW WouLd have dreadfuL consequences for boTh issuers and consumers.

“We are deepLy concerned ThaT These ruLes WiLL resuLT in

Less compeTiTion, higher consumer prices, feWer consumer choices, and

reduced consumer access To crediT cards,” said edWard yingLing, chief execuTive of The american bankers associaTion, said during a congressionaL hearing in may 2008.

so far, a number of Those predicTions have come To pass.

crediT card companies sTarTed hiking raTes LasT summer in anTicipaTion of Tougher neW ruLes, aLThough The indusTry aTTribuTed The raTe increase To The risk in Lending To sTrapped consumers Who can’T pay Their biLLs.

raTes have moved even higher sTiLL. as of LasT Week, The naTionaL average for a pLaTinum card sTood aT 11.31%, according To informa research services. reWards cards sTood aT 12.33%. jusT six monThs ago, Those raTes Were 10.6% and 11.8% respecTiveLy.

buT bourke poinTed ouT ThaT The recenT increases are noT nearLy as severe as Those enacTed jusT before The card acT Was signed inTo LaW.

despiTe The upTick in raTes, experTs say issuers can’T afford To be compLeTeLy infLexibLe WiTh cusTomers Looking for a LoWer raTe.

for sTarTers, americans sTiLL can voTe WiTh Their feeT and

6 W3 LIFESTYLE - FINANCIAL

HIGH APR? don’T Worry, you can sTiLL negoTiaTe!By David Ellis, June 5, 2010, CNN.com

FINANCIAL - W3 LIFESTYLE 7

move Their business eLseWhere if They are unhappy WiTh The currenT crediT card company. esTimaTes puT The number of differenT Types of cards avaiLabLe To consumers aT more Than 10,000, according To The paymenTs indusTry Trade pubLicaTion The niLson reporT.

aT The same Time, The sTeady improvemenT in The economy in The pasT year has Led To some reLief for banks Who had been Weighed doWn by bad Loans.

indusTry charge-offs, or Loans a bank considers To be uncoLLecTibLe, feLL To 10.91% during The monTh of apriL, according To The mosT recenT daTa pubLished by moody’s. The percenTage of americans ThaT are behind on paymenTs has aLso dropped in recenT monThs.

WiTh banks no Longer inTenTLy focused on Loan TroubLes, crediT card companies are once again Looking To add cusTomers, said odysseas papadimiTriou, ceo of evoLuTion finance, Which pubLishes cardhub.com, a crediT card comparison siTe.

“WiTh crediT Losses coming doWn, WhaT We are seeing is increased compeTiTion beTWeen major issuers in geTTing neW business,” said papadimiTriou, a former execuTive WiTh capiTaL one (cof, forTune 500).

severaL issuers conTacTed for This sTory, incLuding bank of america (bac, forTune 500) and discover (dfs, forTune 500), said They have conTinued To Look aT individuaL accounTs To deTermine if They can offer cusTomers an inTeresT raTe reducTion.

“We’ve aLWays been commiTTed To heLping cardmembers in need, and ThaT is no differenT Today,” said a spokesperson for discover.

of course, n e g o T i a T i n g a LoWer raTe WiTh a crediT card company WiLL noT prove easy for everyone.

Long-sTanding cardhoLders or Those WiTh high crediT LimiTs, for exampLe, have TypicaLLy been among The mosT successfuL in Winning a LoWer raTe from Their crediT card company. indusTry experTs said ThaT probabLy hoLds True Today.

and WhiLe consumers Whose crediT goT dinged by The recession mighT noT fare as WeLL, Those Who simpLy kepT up WiTh Their

paymenTs may aLso be abLe To TaLk Their Way inTo a LoWer apr.

“if you are somebody Who is paying your biLL on Time, using your card and carrying a baLance, you are a greaT cusTomer for a crediT card

company,” said bourke.

“mosT cardhoLders had LiTTLe difficuLTy barTering

WiTh Their bank”

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Are you a believer? Are you a believer in mind over matter? Think it, Feel it, and it will be. If you have not already watched it or read the book, go today and enjoy the power of The Secret written by Rhonda Byrne. Not really a movie or documentary, The Secret is more of a video seminar, a presentation featuring a series of authors, philosophers, doctors, quantum physicists, entrepreneurs, and spiritual practitioners expounding on the powers of The Secret (probably the most well-known of the presenters is Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles).

What is The Secret, exactly? “That principle can be summed up in three simple words: thoughts become things,” proclaims writer Mike Dooley, author of Notes from the Universe. Put it another way, it’s The Power of Positive Thinking and how it can be applied to

attracting more money, better health, and relationships; in

short, happiness.

In the end, programs like this generally find an audience that is open to the message, and many will probably find it to be a source of inspiration. Others will approach it with a

good deal of skepticism or dismiss it as another way of marketing happiness the masses. It simply won’t resonate with everyone, but

if it resonates with you, you’re likely to enjoy it and get a lot out of it.

WELLNESS - W3 LIFESTYLE 9

UNLOCKING THE SECRET WiThin yourseLf

“more money, better health, and

relationships”

They are spreading Like “WiLdfire” so To speak. When We WaLked Through The door The empLoyees Looked up and said in unison, “WeLcome To firehouse”. Then We saW Their greaT seLecTion of hoT and coLd sandWiches. afTer We made our order came The even more surprisingLy deLicious parT – some of The firehouse LocaTions, Like The one We visiTed, have a digiTaL soda machine Which has a varieTy of speciaL mixes in soda drinks.

The dining room had TabLes WiTh daLmaTian prinT TabLeTops. The coLor scheme Was a red and WhiTe Theme and There Was an assorTmenT of auThenTic fire appareL scaTTered around. We Were onLy seaTed for a feW minuTes When The Warm sandWiches Were deLivered To our TabLe. i had The medium firehouse sTeak and cheese combo Which Was a good serving size of sirLoin sTeak, onions, beLL peppers and provoLone cheese. The sandWich Was Warmed buT Was sTiLL sofT. iT Was served WiTh a medium beverage and a bag of chips for $6.29 Which i ThoughT Was a greaT price for Lunch. The meaT Was exTremeLy Tender and had a LoT of fLavor. if you WanT iT WiTh LeTTuce and TomaTo you’LL need To specify ThaT you WanT iT “fuLLy invoLved”.

my parTner had a Large (1/2 pound) hook n Ladder sub Which Was ham, Turkey, and monTeray jack cheese Which came To $7.57 WiTh a beverage and bag of chips. Their meaT Was super Tender and juicy and everyThing TasTed fresh. They are very generous WiTh The meaT and iT didn’T TasTe Like cheap coLd-cuTs eiTher. The sandWiches seemed To have more meaT Than bread. our daughTer reaLLy Liked firehouse subs. she goT LiTTLe red fire haT Which she Was exTremeLy exciTed abouT. i Was very pLeased When i saW The kid’s menu. There Were a LoT of choices To choose from for jusT $2.99 such as: Turkey, ham, roasT beef, griLLed cheese, or peanuT buTTer. We ordered The ham sandWich and iT had a feW pieces of ham on iT WiTh higher quaLiTy WhiTe bread. iT aLso came WiTh 2 oreo cookies and a drink. overaLL firehouse seems To have a quaLiTy unLike mosT comparabLe sub shops. They Were quick, WeLL sTaffed, cLean, and offered a quaLiTy food for a greaT price. We’LL be back To firehouse soon i Think nexT Time i WiLL have The hook and Ladder sub.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - W3 LIFESTYLE 11

STOP, DROP, AND ROLL INTO A FIREHOUSEby david WoLfe

ingredienTs:

• 1 Large sWeeT WhiTe onions

• 1 Lb Lean ground sirLoin

• 1 Teaspoon oLive oiL

• 2 TabLespoons crumbLed bLue cheese

• fresh ground bLack pepper, To TasTe

• hamburger bun

• red beLL peppers, sTemmed, seeded and quarTered

• saLT, To TasTe

direcTions:

1. preheaT griLL To medium-high heaT.

2. using your hands, LighTLy shape The ground sirLoin inTo four 1/2-inch Thick paTTies. Try To Leave some air in The burger and avoid packing Them Too denseLy.

3. season WiTh saLT and pepper.

4. LighTLy drizzLe The red pepper quarTers WiTh oLive oiL.

5. cook The burgers on boTh sides over The hoT griLL for abouT 5 To 6 minuTes per side for medium burgers.

6. aT The same Time, griLL The peppers for 2 To 3 minuTes on each side.

7. LighTLy ToasT The buns on The griLL.

8. serve The burgers on ToasTed buns WiTh griLLed red peppers, sLices of sWeeT WhiTe onion and crumbLed bLue cheese.

RED, WHITE, & BLUE BURGERSBY LAURIE, FOOD.COM

14 W3 LIFESTYLE - FOOD RECIPE

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Transformers 3Thursday, june 10Th

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Thursday, june 17Th

sTar Wars

Thursday, june 24Th

jurassic park

COVER - W3 LIFESTYLE 17

SCREEN ON THE GREEN 2010 June movie scheduLe aT piedmonT park

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(EW.com) -- Mood swings similar to those experienced by menopausal Samantha are a common side effect of exposure to “Sex and the City 2.”

Two and a half hours spent in the company of fortysomething Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and fiftysomething Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) takes a toll: The experience of listening to the girls complain about their fairy-tale lives from the comfort of an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation in the Arabian desert may leave a viewer feeling by turns nostalgic, disoriented, and impatient.

Don’t worry. This is a normal response to revisiting an essence-of-1990s-NYC experience and seeing it through 2010 eyes. And it’s a natural reaction given that, in turning the blinged-out foursome into garish caricatures of their already outlandish selves, it seems the producers are just not that into us.

Once upon a time, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha represented an extravagant (white) fantasy of sophisticated city-that-never-sleeps sisterhood. They were Manolo’d ambassadors from a world of Manhattan glamour and cosmos who, underneath their finery, were recognizable as real types of women in an American urban world.

Now? Well, the friends still look porelessly fine. And I’m delighted that, in an antidote to recession frugality, their wardrobe budget hasn’t taken a hit. But in “SATC2,” whether the topic is gay marriage discussed at the over-the-top wedding of Carrie’s Best Gay Friend (Willie Garson) to Charlotte’s own BGF (Mario Cantone), or gender roles in the complicated United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi explored on a camel, the conversation has been reduced to a string of quips. ‘’It’s Bedouin, Bath & Beyond!’’ Carrie chirps about amenities in a luxurious desert oasis. ‘’Lawrence of my labia!’’ Samantha purrs -- ewww! -- about an attractive man observed driving across the dunes. Writer-director Michael Patrick King compulsively jams pun after groaner pun into the script, tipping the ladies’ lifestyles and life issues perilously into cartoon territory done better by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley on BBC’s “Absolutely Fabulous.”

Three of the four have uninteresting but reasonable problems: Charlotte is upset that motherhood is hard; Miranda is upset that she’s unappreciated at work; Samantha is upset that she can’t outrun menopause. The fourth takes the cupcake: Carrie is upset because

she’s got everything, including marriage to Big (Chris Noth), a new book and a humongous closet, and now she’s... what? Spoiled and bored, we can’t help but think. (‘’Is this because I’m a bitch wife who nags you?’’ Carrie wheedles when Big asks for some space; at the

screening I attended, the audience answered aloud, Yes.)

Yet with the exception of Miranda (who, honestly, is far too mature and engaged in the world to still hang with these me-me-me gals), not one of the fashion fiends lifts her head out of her luggage to get a clue. While Miranda reads up on Abu Dhabi and learns to speak basic courtesies in Arabic, Charlotte scrambles like an American maniac in search of clear cell-phone reception. Samantha is still at it with the horny shtick: She insults her hosts as she rails against not being allowed to dress as trampy as she wants. Carrie still can’t get over the awful fact that, while she gave Big an expensive vintage wristwatch for their second anniversary, he gave her a high-end flat-screen TV installed in their bedroom so they could watch old black-and-white movies together. Together. As if the gesture were an insult rather than an offer to share something, anything, other than nights out on the town.

It’s of passing interest to note that all the male characters who make return visits -- including John Corbett as Carrie’s ex, David Eigenberg as Miranda’s husband, Evan Handler as Charlotte’s husband, and Jason Lewis as Samantha’s actor boy-toy -- are so nice and mild and understanding and accommodating that they fade into invisibility. “SATC2” doesn’t have time to follow any relationships other than those among Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda, and their suitcases full of costumer Patricia Field’s caftan-themed creations. As Carrie might type on her laptop while giving one of her girly little shrugs, When did “Sex and the City” become so long and mean so little? C-

MOVIE REVIEW - W3 LIFESTYLE 21

SEX AND THE CITY 2By Lisa Schwarzbaum, EW.com

May 28, 2010

neW york (cnnmoney.com) -- consumers puLLed ouT Their WaLLeTs and hiT Their favoriTe discounT and deparTmenT sTores in may, heLping reTaiLers posT Their ninTh sTraighT monTh of increasing saLes.

according To saLes Tracker Thomson reuTers, Which Looks aT monThLy same-sTore saLes for 28 Leading chains such as macy’s (m, forTune 500), TargeT (TgT, forTune 500), cosTco (cosT, forTune 500) and j.c. penney (jcp, forTune 500), may saLes rose 2.5%, coming in sLighTLy beLoW The firm’s iniTiaL esTimaTe for an increase of 2.6%.

same-sTore saLes, a key gauge of a reTaiLer’s performance, measure saLes aT sTores open aT LeasT a year.

may’s 2.5% increase Was a big jump from apriL’s smaLL bump of 0.5%, and iT Was a significanT improvemenT from The 4.8% saLes decLine reTaiLers posTed for The same monTh a year ago.

of The 28 sTores, 63% beaT anaLysTs’ expecTaTions, WhiLe 37% missed.

among The besT performers LasT monTh, discounTers posTed

The LargesT increase, rising an average of 5.3%. cosTco Led The Way WiTh a 9% rise in

may saLes, buT ThaT increase Was sLighTLy beLoW anaLysTs’ forecasT for an increase of 9.7%.

The company said ThaT higher gasoLine prices and sTronger foreign currencies pressured saLes.

saLes aT discounTer TargeT rose 1.3% LasT monTh, sLighTLy beTTer Than expecTed.

in The deparTmenT sTore arena, macy’s Logged a same-sTore saLes gain of 1.4%.

hoWever, some reTaiLers sTruggLed To boosT Their saLes. The buckLe’s (bke) saLes feLL, 5.4%, a big miss from The 0.6% rise expecTed by anaLysTs, and saLes aT abercrombie & fiTch (anf) decLined 3%.

oTher cLoThing reTaiLers such as The LimiTed, fared beTTer, posTing a saLes jump of 5%, compared To a forecasTs fror a 2.1% increase.

SHOPPING - W3 LIFESTYLE 23

RETAILERS POSTED 9TH STRAIGHT MONTH OF GAINS by bLake eLLis sTaff reporTer - june 3, 2010 cnn.com

as you hopefuLLy knoW by noW, We have speciaL evenTs every monTh for aLL of our residenTs. page 2 of our monThLy minizine (neWsLeTTer) shoWs The names and daTes of These exciTing evenTs.

in an efforT To heLp us pLan properLy, pLease rsvp To W3 LifesTyLe aT [email protected]. be sure To incLude:

• your name

• number of aTTendees

• communiTy name.

you are noT required To rsvp, iT is mereLy a courTesy so ThaT We knoW hoW much food, drinks, eTc To provide. pLease come ouT eiTher Way!

addiTionaLLy, your rsvp and aTTendance aT evenTs WiLL quaLify you To Win fun prizes such as TickeTs To georgia shakespeare performances, braves games and much more.

Thank you for Living in a W3 LifesTyLe communiTy and We Look forWard T o seeing you aT your monThLy evenTs.

R.S.V.P. for evenTs

24 W3 LIFESTYLE - EVENT INFORMATION

An estimated 67 percent of U.S. adults over age 20 are overweight or obese - and a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest says some popular restaurant chains are contributing to the problem.

The report awards the Extreme Eating 2010 Award to a total of nine dishes from seven companies.

“These chains don’t promote moderation. They practice caloric extremism, and they’re helping make modern-day Americans become the most obese people ever to walk the Earth,” stated CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson in a press release.

The report highlights for example that a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger with a large order of fries adds up to 2,380 calories, and that P.F. Chang’s double pan-fried noodle combo, which includes beef, pork and chicken, comes to about 1,820 calories. One meal can put a person close to – or well over – the 2000 -2500 calories per day the USDA recommends for the average person to maintain a healthy weight.

A spokesperson from P.F. Chang’s says the nutritional information for the double pan-fried noodles combo is inaccurate. The company notes that according to the website, the dish contains only 455 calories per serving, and the serving size is for four people. However the CSPI says, that wording can often be misleading.

“One of the oldest tricks in the book is to say that a given plate of food serves X number of people,” says the CSPI. “While people do often share at Chinese restaurants it’s hard to imagine four people sharing this and nothing else!”

C N N r e c e i v e d r e s p o n s e s from two of the other re s t a u r a n t c h a i n s mentioned in the report. C a l i f o r n i a P i z z a

Kitchen – which was cited for two dishes, including a pesto cream penne pasta that amounted to 1,350 calories before any meat was added – says it offers a wide variety of menu choices and that, most often, its pizzas are shared. “We welcome our guests to modify any of our menu items to meet their dietary needs,” a company spokesman says. Similarly, Outback Steakhouse said its chefs can customize meals, desserts and drinks to satisfy customers’ specific preferences and dietary needs. Outback says the company was among the first to offer an online nutritional tool that “ provides [consumers] with all of the information needed to make an informed decision when placing an order.”

In fact, many of the companies in the report currently list their nutritional information right on their websites: Bob Evans; California Pizza Kitchen; Five Guys; P.F. Chang’s; Outback Steakhouse; Chevys. Nutritionists say it is a good rule of thumb to check out nutrition information before heading to a restaurant. Also, the USDA and the American Heart Association offer other useful tips for ways you can eat healthfully when dining out on their websites.

RESTAURANTS TAKE CALORIES To The exTreme

by sabriya rice, cnn..com, May 25, 2010

26 W3 LIFESTYLE - HEATH

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We all know that exercise is good for us, but do we know why? How do those hours of sweating it out on a treadmill or pushing yourself in a weight training regimen actually help your cells and tissues to get healthier?

Two papers by separate groups may provide some intriguing answers. One team, led by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, isolated several dozen metabolic byproducts of exercise in the blood and studied how these compounds change before and after exercise, while across the country, a team at the University of California, San Francisco, studied the effect of exercise on how a cell ages. Both groups of researchers shed new light on how the body responds to exercise, and their findings suggest news ways of enhancing the beneficial effects of physical activity on the body.

In the Massachusetts paper, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the scientists isolated 200 metabolic byproducts in the blood of 300 subjects who agreed to run for 10 min. on a treadmill in the lab. Blood samples were taken before exercise, immediately after the activity, and then one hour later. Of the 200 agents, 20 showed significant changes before and after exercise; most of these were well known byproducts of physical activity, such as increases in lactate and variations in the breakdown of fats, sugars and various amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in the muscles.

One pathway that had not been identified before emerged from this analysis however — the production of a vitamin that promotes insulin release. It was also clear that more fit individuals were able to burn fat more effectively during exercise, since they released more of the byproducts of fat metabolism than less fit subjects. Such information, say the authors, could lead to a better understanding of how to test people for fitness and maximize the beneficial effects of exercise for them — for example, by potentially giving them compounds that can make up for deficiencies in their body’s ability to breakdown fats, sugars or proteins for energy.

In the second study from UCSF, which appeared in PLoS One, the researchers focused on a specific part of cells known to dictate aging. Telomeres are the portions of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that help to stabilize the genetic material in the cell as the cell divides and its genes are replicated over and over again. With each cell division, however, telomeres tend to shorten, and when the tips are worn down enough, that’s a signal for the cell to die.

A growing body of research, some by the same UCSF team, suggests that stress can accelerate the shortening of telomeres, and therefore of cell life. So the research team (which included Elizabeth Blackburn, the scientist who co-discovered the

enzyme responsible for whittling down telomeres and earned the Nobel Prize for her work) decided to test whether exercise could counteract that decline and potentially maintain telomere length and cell vitality.

Working with samples of immune cells from the blood obtained from 62 post menopausal women, the researchers analyzed the length of telomeres on these cells during a three day period. The volunteers, many of whom were caring for loved ones suffering from dementia, recorded the number of minutes of vigorous physical activity they completed at the end of each day. After compiling the data, the scientists found that despite similar levels of stress in their lives, those getting the recommended 75 minutes of weekly physical activity that the government advises did not experience a shortening of their telomeres, while the women exercising less than this amount did.

It’s an intriguing window into how lifestyle changes such as exercise can affect cellular aging, and perhaps even combat the negative effects of stress on our cells. But, caution the authors, the study still needs to be replicated before they can comfortably confirm that physical activity can inhibit aging.

Taken together, the two studies hint at how complex — and systemic — the effects of exercise can be on the body. Creating such cell-level windows into how our bodies react to physical exercise may help us to both appreciate the significance of daily activity as well as figure out better ways to make the most of those hours at the gym.

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