Tag: Headlines (Page 17 of 24)

      The fattest countries

      January 11, 2010 /

      “Behold: the world’s 10 fattest countries” a recent article published on the GlobalPost, discusses the world-wide rise in obesity and ranks the top 10 fattest countries. Although the author mentions processed food and inactivity as the causes of obesity, she fails to go into detail. I do not feel an article on the obesity epidemic is doing justice by not mentioning sugar, in particular high fructose corn syrup, or vegetable oils. These two foods, and I use the term “foods” loosely, Are increasing in use around the world as they have in the US. Vegetable oil consumption in the US, including hydrogenated oils, has increased 437%. (1) Sugar consumption went from 5 pounds per year in 1900 to 163 pounds per year today. From 1970 to the present, fructose and vegetable oil consumption have increased over four fold.(2) During this same time saturated fat has decreased over 20%.

      Because we’ve decreased saturated fat consumption and increasing vegetable oil and carbohydrate consumption like the “experts” at the AMA and the ADA (American Dietetics Association) have advised for decades, you’s think we’d be getting healthier. However, we in the US are getting fatter and more unhealthy and are taking the world with us.

      1. America Samoa 93.5% – percent of population that is overweight
      2. Kiribati 81.5%
      3. U.S. 66.7%
      4. Germany 66.5%
      5. Egypt 66%
      6. Bosnia-Herzegovina 62.9%
      7. New Zealand 62.7%
      8. Isreal 61.9%
      9. Croatia 61.4%
      10. United Kingdom 61%

      Food preparation, Foods products, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      B vitamin possible cure for Alzheimer’s

      January 5, 2010 /

      One out of every eight Americans gets it, and 47% of those who reach 85 years of age have it. Up to now Alzheimer’s was a disease without a remedy. Sure, there are nutritional or drug based substances that slow the symptoms, but If nothing else killed you Alzheimer’s would over a period of time.

      Up until recently Alzheimer’s patients took medications just to be able to dress, bathe, use a phone, and other basic necessary functions by themselves a while longer. A team of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, has announced the discovery of a true cure for Alzheimer?s. The best part of this cure is it’s cheap and widely accessible. The cure is vitamin B3, nicotinamide, or more commonly referred to as niacinamide.

      Kim Green, Ph.D., director of the team at the University of California, Irvine, bought a year?s supply of niacinamide for $30 and stirred it into the drinking water of forty lab mice, half of which were
      specially bred to get Alzheimer’s disease.

      After treating the mice for only four months, he discovered what should have been front-page news in every city in the world. ?Cognitively, they were cured,? said Dr. Green. ?They performed as if they?d never developed the disease.?

      All the researchers in the study were both astonished and excited. Rarely do you hear researchers using the word ?cured,? but that?s exactly what happened.

      At the end of the study, the diseased mice that were treated with niacinamide performed just as well in memory tests as healthy mice! The niacinamide not only protected their brains from further memory loss, but incredibly, it also restored lost memory function.

      Human trials are underway.

      The earliest indicator of coming Alzheimer?s may not be a memory test at all, but a test of your sense of balance.

      Dr. Kaufman often tested the impact of niacinamide on balance, and my colleague Julian Whitaker, M.D., editor of Health & Healing, uses it as a test of aging. Borrowing a bit from both of them, here is how you can test yourself:

      1. Stand on an uncarpeted floor barefoot or in low-heeled shoes. Close your eyes and balance on your right foot. Slowly draw the heel of your left foot up to where it touches your right kneecap. Don?t wave your arms for balance, just see how long you can stand there. (If you?re accident-prone, have somebody to catch you.)

      2. Do the same standing on your left foot.

      3. Repeat #1 and #2.

      Then average your four scores.

      The average by age group is:

      Your Age – Seconds
      Up to 20 – 30
      30?39 – 25
      40?49 – 15
      50?59 – 10
      60?69 – 7
      70+ – 5

      Why such a large difference between ages? It?s because certain nerve fibers in your spinal column tell your brain the location and angle of each joint in your body…but if you stop assimilating enough B vitamins, the fibers eventually stop sending their messages upstairs?and that?s definitely a pre-Alzheimer?s condition.

      Anti-Aging, Cholesterol levels, Dementia/Alzheimer's Disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Master your health

      January 4, 2010 /

      Do genetics control our bodies or can we control our genetics? Many scientists now believe genetics do not control life but are controlled by environmental factors such as our mental attitudes. This is a mind blowing, culture bending new way of thought that is starting to gain popularity.

      “Mind over matter” is a well known saying that has merit. The power of the mind over the body has been shown time and time again. Science shows us everything is made of atoms and that atoms are energy. Therefore, everything is energy. It is no stretch to think that our positive mental energy created by a positive mental attitude would transfer to better health.

      Anti-Aging, Cancer, Heart disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Motivation, Prostate health, Sexual Health, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Partial reps vs full range of motion

      January 2, 2010 /

      I am not a huge fan of using partial reps, but will use them sparingly with experienced lifters to “through a wrench into their workout”. When I prescribe them they are performed after the client has already reached momentary concentric failure during a set. But, because partial reps place such high demands on the recovery ability of the muscles being worked, I caution against using them more than once every 4 workouts per body part. In reference to this belief, I received an email from an intermediate lifter claiming a study (J Strength Cond Res, 2004, 18(3), 518-521) proved partial reps should be incorporated in his workout instead of full range reps.?

      I did a little research, as always, and found the study the gentleman was referencing. This study was conducted over a 10-week period using the bench press as the criterion measurement. Subjects were divided into three groups. Group one trained with full range of motion sets. Group two trained with partial range of motion sets. A partial range of motion was defined as two to five inches from full extension of the elbows. Group three trained with a combination of both partial and full range reps. All groups were pre and post-tested with a full range of motion one rep maximum. No differences were found between the groups. So should we or shouldn’t we use partial reps?

      There are several problems I find with this study that are common to many studies trying to illuminate the most efficacious training principles. First, and perhaps most important, inexperienced, recreational subjects were used. Inexperienced subjects can achieve gains in the first few months on just about any program. Second, the length of time the study was conducted was entirely too short. six, eight or, like this study, 10 weeks is just not enough time to show the efficacy of a particular training protocol. And third, the intensity of the exercises or perceived exertion is not mentioned or monitored. Are the subjects going to failure on their sets? Are some subjects pushing themselves harder than others? Are the subjects training in the same manner on exercises other than the bench press? This study like most training studies shows nothing.

      Bodybuilding, Exercise, General training, Power lifting, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Set your thermostat for better sleep

      December 22, 2009 /

      Sleep deprivation can lead to serious health risks both mentally and physically. Not getting enough sleep can lead to depression, irritability, mood swings, cardiovascular disease, slower reaction times, impaired concentration, impaired decision making, decreased test scores, impaired immune system, and more.

      Sleep deprivation affects millions of Americans and as with most things, our ability to get quality sleep decreases as we age. In the following article from the New York Times avoiding caffeine, drinking milk before bed time, and other lifestyle changes are not the only ways to increase ones quality of sleep.

      Studies have found that in general, the optimal temperature for sleep is quite cool, around 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. For some, temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness.

      Temperatures in this range, it seems, help facilitate the decrease in core body temperature that in turn initiates sleepiness. A growing number of studies are finding that temperature regulation plays a role in many cases of chronic insomnia. Researchers have shown, for example, that insomniacs tend to have a warmer core body temperature than normal sleepers just before bed, which leads to heightened arousal and a struggle to fall asleep as the body tries to reset its internal thermostat.

      For normal sleepers, the drop in core temperature is marked by an increase in temperature in the hands and feet, as the blood vessels dilate and the body radiates heat. Studies show that for troubled sleepers, a cool room and a hot-water bottle placed at the feet, which rapidly dilates blood vessels, can push the internal thermostat to a better setting.

      Anti-Aging, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

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