diet also influences aerobic function, with high-glycemic foods
(refined carbohydrates and other sugars) practically turning this sys-
tem off.
Rescuing Your Aerobic System
To get your aerobic system working correctly, you must diminish or
avoid factors that suppress it, and increase the factors that help it.
Stress has a negative impact on your aerobic system. The different
types of stress and how to control them are discussed in a later chap-
ter. For now it’s important just to know that stress of any kind pro-
grams your body to burn less fat and more sugar. The more stress, the
worse this problem will be.
Dietary or nutritional factors that cause excess stress can especial-
ly inhibit aerobic function. The most common of these stresses is eat-
ing too much refined carbohydrate foods and products containing
sugar. Deficiencies of essential fats or other nutrients can also inhibit
aerobic development. Over-exercising is another stress that can
reduce aerobic function.
If the aerobic system is impaired, energy needs switch from fat-
burning toward using more sugar. This results in a real deficiency in
aerobic function, resulting in a variety of signs and symptoms I call
the aerobic deficiency syndrome.
Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome — ADS
The ADS is not an epidemic so easily defined that it makes big news
each day, like AIDS, cancer or heart disease, but this problem is
destroying the quality of life for many millions of people. It’s one of
the major causes of functional illness, and a significant contributing
factor to chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
ADS occurs when the aerobic system is not well developed and
maintained. This becomes a major risk factor for disease. It’s no dif-
ferent from vitamin C deficiency, or being deprived of any other
necessity of life. It can cause problems in any area of the body
dependent upon the aerobic system, which is most of the body. It can
affect your body chemistry causing hormonal imbalance, your physi-
cal body causing hip, knee or back problems, or your brain resulting
188 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH