Combat update: LoGreco, Nover, Malignaggi and more

As any of you already know, I have my fingers in all aspects of combat sports. In the coming weeks and months several of my patients and friends will be participating at various events around the area. Thought I'd keep you all posted and maybe see you there.

May 4
@ Resorts world casino in Queens Shawn Cameron will be in his 5th pro boxing bout and looking for his 4 KO Victory.

Also,
@ MGM Grand casino in Vegas good friend and middle weigh contender J'Leon Love will be facing Gabriel Rosado in J'Leon's 16th pro bout. Love looks to continue his undefeated streak as he climbs up the middle weight ladder. Look for J'Leon to be representing the Mayweather boxing club, Havoc boxing,  Future Legend Clothing, and AZAD watches .

May 11
@ St Raymond's High school in the Bronx I will be an official Judge for Aggressive Combat Championship 2. The first event was a sell out, as ACC brought NYS the first officially sanctioned amateur MMA fights.

May 18
@ Boardwalk Hall " Italian Sensation" Phil LoGreco hates on "ShowTime" Shawn Porter in a battle of two undefeated welterweight contenders. This fight will air on Showtime and I will be there live as part of team LoGreco. If your looking to come out and support get your tickets at Ticketmaster  promo code LoGreco will get you a seat with the rest of our cheering squad.

June 14
@ Tropicana in Atlantic City former UFC and Bellator light weight contender Phillipe Nover takes to the cage to challenge for the Ring Of Combat Light weight Championship. Phil's coming off a UD win over Darrell Horcher at Bellator 95.

June 22
@ Barlcays center in Brooklyn, New York WBA Champion Paulie Malignaggi puts his title on the line vs rising boxing super star Adrian Broner. Broner is moving up 2 weigh classes and putting his undefeated record on the line for a shot at the Brooklyn Natives title. The build up to this fight will be second to none as both men happen to be good trash Talkers. I hope you will fine time to come out and support the Brooklyn native in what looks to be the biggest clash of Barclays young existence. Please contact Jdimitri@brooklynnets.com for ticket info and discounts.  

Dopamine regulates the motivation to act

 

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

The widespread belief that dopamine regulates pleasure could go down in history with the latest research results on the role of this neurotransmitter. Researchers have proved that it regulates motivation, causing individuals to initiate and persevere to obtain something either positive or negative.

The neuroscience journal Neuron publishes an article by researchers at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón that reviews the prevailing theory on dopamine and poses a major paradigm shift with applications in diseases related to lack of motivation and mental fatigue and depression, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, etc. and diseases where there is excessive motivation and persistence as in the case of addictions.
“It was believed that dopamine regulated pleasure and reward and that we release it when we obtain something that satisfies us, but in fact the latest scientific evidence shows that this neurotransmitter acts before that, it actually encourages us to act. In other words, dopamine is released in order to achieve something good or to avoid something evil”, explains Mercè Correa.
Studies had shown that dopamine is released by pleasurable sensations but also by stress, pain or loss. These research results however had been skewed to only highlight the positive influence, according to Correa. The new article is a review of the paradigm based on the data from several investigations, including those conducted over the past two decades by the Castellón group in collaboration with the John Salamone of the University of Connecticut (USA), on the role of dopamine in the motivated behaviour in animals.

The level of dopamine depends on individuals, so some people are more persistent than others to achieve a goal. “Dopamine leads to maintain the level of activity to achieve what is intended. This in principle is positive, however, it will always depend on the stimuli that are sought: whether the goal is to be a good student or to abuse of drugs” says Correa. High levels of dopamine could also explain the behaviour of the so-called sensation seekers as they are more motivated to act.
Application for depression and addiction
To know the neurobiological parameters that make people be motivated by something is important to many areas such as work, education or health. Dopamine is now seen as a core neurotransmitter to address symptoms such as the lack of energy that occurs in diseases such as depression. “Depressed people do not feel like doing anything and that’s because of low dopamine levels,” explains Correa. Lack of energy and motivation is also related to other syndromes with mental fatigue such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia, among others.
In the opposite case, dopamine may be involved in addictive behaviour problems, leading to an attitude of compulsive perseverance. In this sense, Correa indicates that dopamine antagonists which have been applied so far in addiction problems probably have not worked because of inadequate treatments based on a misunderstanding of the function of dopamine.
Source

Green tea, weight control update

 

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Evidence shows that green tea extract in tandem with an additional compound could be effective for body weight control and type 2 diabetes

Evidence has shown that green tea extract may be an effective herbal remedy useful for weight control and helping to regulate glucose in type 2 diabetes. In order to ascertain whether green tea truly has this potential, Jae-Hyung Park and his colleagues from the Keimyung University School of Medicine in the Republic of Korea conducted a study, now published in the Springer journal Naunyn-Schmedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology.
The active constituents of green tea, which have been shown to inhibit intestinal glucose and lipid uptake, are a certain type of flavonoid called gallated catechins. The authors had previously suggested that the amount of gallated catechins necessary to reduce blood glucose concentrations can be achieved from a daily dose of green tea. However, the amount of green tea needed to decrease lipid uptake from the gut is higher and has been shown to have adverse effects in humans. Once in the bloodstream, gallated catechins can actually increase insulin resistance, which is a negative consequence especially in obese and diabetic patients.
For their study, the researchers tested the effects of green tea extract on body weight and glucose intolerance in both diabetic mice and normal mice fed a high-fat diet. To prevent a high dose of gallated catechins from reaching the bloodstream, the authors also used a non-toxic resin, polyethylene glycol, to bind the gallated catechins in the gut to prevent their absorption. They then looked at the effects on the mice of eating green tea extract alone, and eating green tea extract plus polyethylene glycol. They compared these against the effects of two other therapeutic drugs routinely prescribed for type 2 diabetes.

Results showed that green tea extract in isolation did not give any improvements in body weight and glucose intolerance. However, when green tea extract was given with polyethylene glycol, there was a significant reduction in body weight gain, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in both normal mice on a high fat diet and diabetic mice. The polyethylene glycol had the effect of prolonging the amount of time the gallated catechins remained in the intestines, thereby limiting glucose absorption for a longer period.
Interestingly, the effects of the green tea extract in both the intestines and in the circulation were measurable at doses which could be achieved by drinking green tea on a daily basis. In addition, the effects of green tea extract w ere comparable to those found when taking two of the drugs which are currently recommended for non-insulin dependent diabetes.
The authors conclude that “dietary green tea extract and polyethylene glycol alleviated body weight gain and insulin resistance in diabetic and high-fat mice, thus ameliorating glucose intolerance. Therefore the green tea extract and polyethylene glycol complex may be a preventative and therapeutic tool for obesity and obesity-related type 2 diabetes without too much concern about side effects.”
Source

For chronic heel pain, platelet-rich plasma may be most effective treatment

 

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — SAN DIEGO, CA – Research presented Friday aims to find an effective treatment for the two million Americans suffering annually from moderate-to-severe heel pain.

John J. Wilson, MD, MS, AMSSM member, presented his research on plantar fasciitis entitled, “Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Chronic Plantar Fasciopathy in Adults: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial” on Friday, April 19, 2013 at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine’s 22nd Annual Meeting in San Diego, Cal.
Dr. Wilson and his colleagues are currently conducting a randomized controlled clinical trial investigating platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis is a musculoskeletal disorder affecting the plantar fascia origin and is the most common cause of heel pain in adults. Plantar fasciitis is an important cause of pain and disability among athletes, but also prevalent in the general population, especially sedentary individuals, with previous research estimating two million Americans affected annually. Few studies have assessed PRP as a treatment for plantar fasciitis, and no single study has assessed the degree of correlation between the clinical, biomechanical and ultrasound features of plantar fasciitis in response to therapy.
The overall goal of this research is to find an effective treatment for moderate-to-severe chronic (>6 month) plantar fasciitis. This 32-week randomized controlled clinical trial compares the effectiveness of PRP compared to corticosteroid injection for refractory plantar fasciitis. The results from this high quality and multi-disciplinary study will evaluate both clinical and radiographic outcomes following two injection treatments for chronic plantar fasciitis.

Concussions increase the risk of lower extremity injury

 

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — San Diego, CA – A new study shows that college athletes who sustain concussions are more likely to have a lower extremity injury in the same season after they return from the concussion.

Dr. Daniel Herman, a fellow in primary care sports medicine at the University of Florida, presented this research at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine conference in San Diego, California.
Athletes with concussions were 3.79 times more likely to get a muscle or ligament injury than their non-concussed teammates.
The severity of the injuries was not statistically different between the two groups.
This research takes the popular topic of concussions in a direction that many people have not thought about.

“These results may have clinical implications ranging from pre-season injury risk stratification to post-concussion rehabilitation practices to return to play considerations,” said Dr. Herman.
“My colleagues and I are working to develop additional studies investigating the impact of neurocognitive performance on musculoskeletal injuries.”
About the AMSSM
The AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of sports medicine physicians whose members are dedicated to education, research, advocacy, and the care of athletes of all ages.
Founded in 1991, the AMSSM comprises more than 2,300 sports medicine physicians whose goal is to provide a link between the rapidly expanding core of knowledge related to sports medicine and its application to patients in a clinical setting. www.amssm.org

Grape intake may protect against metabolic syndrome-related organ damage

 

 

 

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

ANN ARBOR, MI – Consuming grapes may help protect against organ damage associated with the progression of metabolic syndrome, according to research presented Monday at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston. Natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects.

The study, led by investigator E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Health System, studied the effects of a high fat, American-style diet both with added grapes and without grapes (the control diet) on the heart, liver, kidneys, and fat tissue in obesity-prone rats. The grapes – a blend of red, green and black varieties – were provided as a freeze-dried grape powder and integrated into the animals’ diets for 90 days.
Specifically, the results showed that three months of a grape-enriched diet significantly reduced inflammatory markers throughout the body, but most significantly in the liver and in abdominal fat tissue. Consuming grapes also reduced liver, kidney and abdominal fat weight, compared with those consuming the control diet. Additionally, grape intake increased markers of antioxidant defense, particularly in the liver and kidneys.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together – increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or low HDL (the good cholesterol) and increased blood triglycerides – significantly increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Intake of fruits and vegetables is thought to reduce these risks, and grapes have shown benefits in multiple studies. Metabolic syndrome is a major public health concern, and is on the rise in the U.S.
“Our study suggests that a grape-enriched diet may play a critical role in protecting against metabolic syndrome and the toll it takes on the body and its organs,” said Seymour. “Both inflammation and oxidative stress play a role in cardiovascular disease progression and organ dysfunction in Type 2 diabetes. Grape intake impacted both of these components in several tissues which is a very promising finding.”
This work extends and reinforces the findings of Seymour’s previously published research which demonstrated that a grape-enriched diet reduced risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in obesity-prone rats.
Source

What really makes us fat?

 

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Article questions our understanding of the cause of obesity

The science of obesity: what do we really know about what makes us fat?
If we are to make any progress in tackling the obesity crisis, we have to look again at what really makes us fat, claims an article published in this week’s BMJ.
Gary Taubes, co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative, argues that our understanding of the cause of obesity may be incorrect, and that rectifying this misconception is “absolutely critical” to future progress.
“What we want to know,” he says, “is what causes us to gain weight, not whether weight loss can be induced under different conditions of semi-starvation.”
The history of obesity research is a history of two competing hypotheses of energy balance and endocrinology, writes Taubes. Since the 1950s, conventional wisdom on obesity has been that it is caused by a positive energy balance – in other words we get fat because we overeat. The alternative hypothesis – that obesity is a hormonal or regulatory disorder – was dismissed after the second world war as being unworthy of serious attention.
But Taubes believes that the wrong hypothesis – energy balance – won out and that it is this hypothesis, along with substandard science, that has fuelled the obesity crisis and the related chronic diseases.
He argues that attempts to blame the obesity epidemics worldwide on increased availability of calories “typically ignore the fact that these increases are largely carbohydrates” and, as such, these observations “shed no light on whether it’s total calories to blame or the carbohydrate calories.”

Nor do they shed light on the more fundamental question of whether people or populations get fat “because they’re eating more, or eat more because the macronutrient composition of their diets is promoting fat accumulation … in effect, driving an increase in appetite.”
Taubes also points to “substandard” research that is “incapable of answering the question of what causes obesity.”
As a result, he has co-founded the Nutrition Science Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation to “fund and facilitate rigorously well controlled experimental trials, carried out by independent, sceptical researchers.” Our hope, he says, is that these experiments will answer definitively the question of what causes obesity, and help us finally make meaningful progress against it.
If we are to make progress in the struggle against obesity and its related chronic diseases, he believes we must accept the existence of alternative hypotheses of obesity, refuse to accept substandard science, and find the willingness and the resources to do better.
“With the burden of obesity now estimated at greater than $150bn (£100bn; €118bn) a year in the US alone, virtually any amount of money spent on getting nutrition research right can be defended on the basis that the long term savings to the healthcare system and to the health of individuals will offset the costs of the research by orders of magnitude,” he concludes.
Source

Aerobic exercise may protect cognitive abilities of heavy drinkers

Aerobic exercise may protect cognitive abilities of heavy drinkers, says CU-Boulder study

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Aerobic exercise may help prevent and perhaps even reverse some of the brain damage associated with heavy alcohol consumption, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

The study results indicated that regular aerobic exercise like walking, running or bicycling is associated with less damage to the brain’s “white matter” among heavy alcohol users. White matter, along with gray matter, are the organ’s two major physical components. White matter is composed of bundles of nerve cells that act as transmission lines to facilitate communication between various parts of the brain, said lead study author Hollis Karoly, a doctoral student in CU-Boulder’s psychology and neuroscience department.
“We found that for people who drink a lot and exercise a lot, there was not a strong relationship between alcohol and white matter,” said Karoly. “But for people who drink a lot and don’t exercise, our study showed the integrity of white matter is compromised in several areas of the brain. It basically means white matter is not moving messages between areas of the brain as efficiently as normal.”
A paper on the subject titled “Aerobic Exercise Moderates the Effect of Heavy Alcohol Consumption on White Matter Damage” was published April 16 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Co-authors on the study included CU-Boulder psychology and neuroscience professors Angela Bryan and Kent Hutchison, CU doctoral students Courtney Stevens and Rachel Thayer and Washington State University Assistant Professor Renee Magnan.
“This study is preliminary, but promising,” said Bryan, study co-author. “From my perspective, the major finding is the possibility that exercise might be able to either buffer against or undo some of the damage that heavy alcohol use does to the brain.”
The new CU-Boulder study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The study group included 60 people, 37 men and 23 women, ranging from moderate drinkers to heavy drinkers and who were drawn from a larger pool of people under study for alcohol and nicotine issues, said Karoly. The study participants had each taken a standard, written test known as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, or AUDIT, used to detect hazardous or harmful drinking behavior. The subjects also self-reported their successes or failures in attempting to control their drinking, as well as the amount of exercise they were undertaking.

Each of the test subjects previously had undergone a modified type of MRI known as Diffusion Tensor Imaging, or DTI. The imagery allowed the researchers to track the position and direction of water molecules traveling parallel to axons, or nerve fibers, in the white matter as they move through the brain. DTI allows researchers to see the orientation of the axons — different colors represented different directions of travel — providing valuable information about the brain’s communication superhighways.
The research team specifically looked at several parts of the brain, including the external capsule, a collection of white matter fibers connecting different layers of the brain. They also looked at the superior longitudinal fasciculus, two long bundles of neurons connecting the front and back of the cerebrum, which is the largest part of the brain and is believed to be the place where the origin of thoughts, perception, judgment, decision-making and imagination takes place, according to neurologists.
“What our data suggest is that beyond just giving people a different outlet for cravings or urges for alcohol, exercise might also help to repair the damage that may have been done to the brain,” said Bryan. “It might even be a more promising treatment approach for alcohol problems because it is both a behavioral treatment and a treatment that has the potential to make the brain more healthy. The healthier the brain is, the more likely a person with alcohol issues is to recover.”
In general, aerobic exercise is recommended because of its benefits to brain, heart and muscles, said Karoly. Other studies have shown that aerobic exercise is associated with greater white matter volume and integrity among older healthy adults.
“This is an exploratory study and it is not our intention to suggest a person can erase the physiological damage of years of heavy drinking by exercising,” said Karoly. “Some of the specific mechanisms in the brain linked to heavy drinking and exercise are not well understood, and we hope our study will inspire future research on the subject.”
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism.
Source

Rest signals higher risk of death

Even in fit, healthy people, high heart rate at rest signals higher risk of death: British Medical Journal

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

A resting heart rate – the number of heart beats per minute – is determined by an individual’s level of physical fitness, circulating hormones, and the autonomic nervous system. A rate at rest of between 60 and 100 beats per minute is considered normal.

People who are very physically active tend to have a low heart rate at rest, but the authors wanted to find out if heart rate had any bearing on an individual’s risk of death, irrespective of their level of cardiorespiratory fitness.
They therefore tracked the health of just under 3000 men for 16 years, all of whom were part of the Copenhagen Male Study. This was set up in 1970-71 to monitor the cardiovascular health of middle aged men at 14 large companies in Copenhagen.
In 1971 all participants were interviewed by a doctor about their health and lifestyle, including smoking and exercise, and given a check-up. Their cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a cycling test, set at three different levels of exertion.
In 1985-6, just under 3000 of these original participants were given a further check-up, to include measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, blood fats and blood glucose. Their resting heart rate was also recorded (ECG and VO2Max).

Sixteen years later in 2001, the researchers checked national Danish registers to find out which of these men had survived. Almost four out of 10 (39%; 1082) of the men had died by 2001.
Unsurprisingly, a high resting heart rate was associated with lower levels of physical fitness, higher blood pressure and weight, and higher levels of circulating blood fats. Similarly, men who were physically active tended to have lower resting heart rates.
But the results showed that the higher the resting heart rate, the higher was the risk of death, irrespective of fitness level.
After adjusting for factors likely to influence the results, a resting heart rate of between 51 and 80 beats per minute was associated with a 40 to 50% increased risk of death, while one between 81 and 90 beats per minute doubled the risk, compared with those with the lowest rate. A resting heart rate above 90 beats per minute tripled the risk.
On the basis of their findings, the authors calculated that every 10 to 22 additional beats per minute in resting heart rate increased the risk of death by 16%, overall.
When smoking was factored in, this showed that every 12 to 27 additional heartbeats per minute increased a smoker’s risk by 20%, with a 14% increase in risk for every additional 4 to 24 beats per minute for non-smokers.
The authors say that a great deal of attention has focused on resting heart rate as an indicator of longevity, but that it has not been clear whether a high rate is simply an indicator of low levels of physical fitness.
But they conclude: “We found that irrespective of level of physical fitness, subjects with high resting heart rates fare worse than subjects with lower heart rates. This suggests that a high resting heart rate is not a mere marker of poor physical fitness, but is an independent risk factor.”
Source

Drinking cup of beetroot juice daily may help lower blood pressure

Drinking cup of beetroot juice daily may help lower blood pressure: American Heart Association

 

 

 

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

A cup of beetroot juice a day may help reduce your blood pressure, according to a small study in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite 1000-Watt Juice Extractor
People with high blood pressure who drank about 8 ounces of beetroot juice experienced a decrease in blood pressure of about 10 mm Hg. But the preliminary findings don’t yet suggest that supplementing your diet with beetroot juice benefits your health, researchers said.
“Our hope is that increasing one’s intake of vegetables with a high dietary nitrate content, such as green leafy vegetables or beetroot, might be a lifestyle approach that one could easily employ to improve cardiovascular health,” said Amrita Ahluwalia, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a professor of vascular pharmacology at The Barts and The London Medical School in London.
The beetroot juice contained about 0.2g of dietary nitrate, levels one might find in a large bowl of lettuce or perhaps two beetroots. In the body the nitrate is converted to a chemical called nitrite and then to nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide is a gas that widens blood vessels and aids blood flow.

“We were surprised by how little nitrate was needed to see such a large effect,” Ahluwalia said. “This study shows that compared to individuals with healthy blood pressure much less nitrate is needed to produce the kinds of decreases in blood pressure that might provide clinical benefits in people who need to lower their blood pressure. However, we are still uncertain as to whether this effect is maintained in the long term.”
The study involved eight women and seven men who had a systolic blood pressure between 140 to 159 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), did not have other medical complications and were not taking blood pressure medication. The study participants drank 250 mL of beetroot juice or water containing a low amount of nitrate, and had their blood pressure monitored over the next 24 hours.
Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers. Systolic blood pressure, which is the top number and the highest, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. Diastolic blood pressure, the bottom and lower number, measures blood pressure in the arteries between heart beats.
Compared with the placebo group, participants drinking beetroot juice had reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure — even after nitrite circulating in the blood had returned to their previous levels prior to drinking beetroot. The effect was most pronounced three to six hours after drinking the juice but still present even 24 hours later.
In the United States, more than 77 million adults have diagnosed high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart diseases and stroke. Eating vegetables rich in dietary nitrate and other critical nutrients may be an accessible and inexpensive way to manage blood pressure, Ahluwalia said.
Getting people to eat more fruits and vegetables is challenging, but results of the study offer hope, she said. “In the U.K., the general public is told that they should be eating five portions of fruit or vegetables a day but this can be hard to do. Perhaps we should have a different approach to dietary advice. If one could eat just one (fruit or vegetable) a day, this is one more than nothing and should be viewed as positive.”
The USDA recommends filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and the American Heart Association recommends eating eight or more fruit and vegetable servings every day.
Source

Mind Over Medicine

Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

We’ve been led to believe that when we get sick, it’s our genetics. Or it’s just bad luck—and doctors alone hold the keys to optimal health. For years, Lissa Rankin, M.D., believed the same. But when her own health started to suffer, and she turned to Western medical treatments, she found that they not only failed to help; they made her worse. So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Through her research, Dr. Rankin discovered that the health care she had been taught to practice was missing something crucial: a recognition of the body’s innate ability to self-repair and an appreciation for how we can control these self-healing mechanisms with the power of the mind.
In an attempt to better understand this phenomenon, she explored peer-reviewed medical literature and found evidence that the medical establishment had been proving that the body can heal itself for over 50 years.
Using extraordinary cases of spontaneous healing, Dr. Rankin shows how thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can alter the body’s physiology. She lays out the scientific data proving that loneliness, pessimism, depression, fear, and anxiety damage the body, while intimate relationships, gratitude, meditation, sex, and authentic self-expression flip on the body’s self-healing processes.

In the final section of the book, you’ll be introduced to a radical new wellness model based on Dr. Rankin’s scientific findings.
Her unique six-step program will help you uncover where things might be out of whack in your life—spiritually, creatively, environmentally, nutritionally, and in your professional and personal relationships—so that you can create a customized treatment plan aimed at bolstering these health-promoting pieces of your life.
You’ll learn how to listen to your body’s “whispers” before they turn to life-threatening “screams” that can be prevented with proper self-care, and you’ll learn how to trust your inner guidance when making decisions about your health and your life.
By the time you finish Mind Over Medicine, you’ll have made your own Diagnosis, written your own Prescription, and created a clear action plan designed to help you make your body ripe for miracles.
Source: Amazon
MORE INFO ABOUT Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself

Malignaggi vs Broner: Let the verbal sparring begin.

The stage has been set for WBA welterweight Champion Paulie Malignaggi to face Adrian Broner. Broner is the current WBC champion at 135 and is looking to move up two classes to Challenge the Brooklyn born Malignaggi in Brooklyn.

Broner, AKA "The Problem" , is taunted as being the next boxing superstar. His antics seem to be a spin off of current WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather. Stylistically Broner is a harder hitting, less defensive fighter then Floyd.

Broner has electrified the east coast with his last two outings on HBO in Atlantic City, New Jersey where he captured the WBC belt over Antonio DeMarco and respectively defended it vs Gavin Rees.

Malignaggi, the brash talking Italian-American slick boxer was written off by many after his one sided lose to Amir Kahn at the MGS theater in May of 2010 has remade himself. After signing with Golden Boy Promotions and moving up a weight, Paulie has resurrected his career. He is 5-0 with 2 ko's and was even brave enough to fly to the Ukraine last year to face the then WBA title holder Vyacheslav Senchenko. Paulie defended that title this past October when he battled Pablo Cesar Cano in the Barclays center. After an 11th round scare where Paulie was knocked down, he went on to take a very close, highly contested decision.

Initially people took this fight as a joke. Broner has spent most of his career at 130-140. Paulie, while a title holder seems to be the least favorite of the Golden Boy Champions. Broner's looking to take the step up and take an easy belt. Paulie's looking to show everyone wrong and defy the odds once again, possibly securing himself a future date vs the real boxing superstar who is Floyd Mayweather.

Either way the promotions leading up to this fight should be very entertaining due to both mean having the gift of gab. Keep your eyes and ears open. This is going to be an exiting ride leading up to the clash June 22 in Brooklyn.


Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow. Get yours quick. They won't last long.

Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah & Undercard Official Weights

Cardio could hold key to cancer cure: new study

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Friday 26 April 2013: Regular exercise has been proven to reduce the chance of developing liver cancer in a world-first mice study that carries hope for patients at risk from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The research announced at the International Liver Congress™ 2013 involved two groups of mice fed a control diet and a high fat diet then divided into separate exercise and sedentary groups. The exercise groups ran on a motorised treadmill for 60 minutes per day, five days a week.
After 32 weeks of regular exercise, 71% of mice on the controlled diet developed tumours larger than 10mm versus 100% in the sedentary group. The mean number and volume of HCC tumours per liver was also reduced in the exercise group compared to the sedentary group.

EASL’s Educational Councillor Prof. Jean-Francois Dufour said the data showed the significant benefit of regular exercise on the development of HCC. Exercise decreased the level of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice receiving a high-fat diet. He said: “We know that modern, unhealthy lifestyles predispose people to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which may lead to liver cancer; however it’s been previously unknown whether regular exercise reduces the risk of developing HCC. This research is significant because it opens the door for further studies to prove that regular exercise can reduce the chance of people developing HCC.”
Prof. Jean-Francois Dufour added: “The results could eventually lead to some very tangible benefits for people staring down the barrel of liver cancer and I look forward to seeing human studies in this important area in the future. The prognosis for liver cancer patients is often bleak as only a proportion of patients are suitable for potentially curative treatments so any kind of positive news in this arena is warmly welcomed.”
HCC is a cancer originating in liver cells and is one of the most common types of tumour. Worldwide, HCC accounts for approximately 5.4% of all cancers and causes 695,000 deaths per year, including 47,000 deaths in Europe per annum. It is the fifth most common cause of cancer in men and the eighth most common cause in women.
Disclaimer: the data referenced in this release is based on the submitted abstract. More recent data may be presented at the International Liver Congress™ 2013.
Source

Every extra 12-ounce sugary drink ups diabetes risk

 

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

NEWSWISE – David Levitsky, an expert on diet and professor of nutrition at Cornell University, discusses the implications of a large European study concluding that every extra 12-ounce serving of sugary drinks increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes by 22 percent.

Levitsky says:
“The results of the recent paper by the The InterAct Consortium demonstrating a link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and diabetes is another nail in the coffin of the idea that we are free to eat whatever or how much we want.

“The omnipresence and the cheap price of food in our culture are the direct causes of this increase in diabetes, a disease which will result in millions of dollars of additional medical costs and suffering. We can no longer eat anything we want without thinking about its consequence. We must learn to control our intake if we want to remain healthy.”

Fasting diets may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease: British journal

 

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Los Angeles, CA (April 26, 2013) – Intermittent fasting is all the rage, but scientific evidence showing how such regimes affect human health is not always clear cut. Now a scientific review in the British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease published by SAGE, suggests that fasting diets may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, alongside established weight loss claims.

Intermittent fasting –fasting on a given number of consecutive or alternate days – has recently been hailed as a path to weight loss and improved cardiovascular risk. A team led by James Brown from Aston University has evaluated the various approaches to intermittent fasting in the scientific literature. They searched specifically for advantages and limitations in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes using fasting diets.
The basic format of intermittent fasting is to alternate days eating ‘normally’ with days when calorie consumption is restricted. This can either be done on alternative days, or where two days each week are classed as ‘fasting days’. These types of intermittent fasting have been shown in trials to be as effective as or more effective than counting calories every day to lose weight. Evidence from clinical trials shows that fasting can limit inflammation, improve levels of sugars and fats in circulation, and reduce blood pressure. Our fasting bodies change how they select which fuel to burn, improving metabolism and reducing oxidative stress.
For people with obesity, only one drug (orlistat) is currently available in the UK, and gastric surgery is a relatively rare and expensive alternative. Dietary changes remain the most common intervention used for obese people. Fasting is known to help, but former treatments were based on intermittent starving. Today’s intermittent fasting regimes are easier to stick to, and are proven to help remove excess pounds melt away.

Scientists have known since the 1940s that intermittent fasting helps us lose weight, and can cut the incidence of diabetes in lab animals. Recent studies have also confirmed that restricting calorie intake could possibly reverse type 2 diabetes in some people. Researchers measured improved pancreatic function and fewer of the fatty deposits associated with insulin resistance were present in fasting subjects.
A healthy heart
In animal models, scientists have shown that intermittent fasting has some cardiovascular benefits that appear similar to exercising, such as improving blood pressure and heart rate, and lowering cholesterol. Fasting also appears to aid those with ischemic heart disease. Fasting may even protect the heart by raising levels of adiponectin, a protein that has several important roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and vascular biology.
“Intermittent fasting might achieve much of the benefit seen with bariatric surgery, but without the costs, restriction on numbers and risks associated with surgery,” according to lead author, James Brown. “Whether intermittent fasting can be used as a tool to prevent diabetes in those individuals at high risk or to prevent progression in those recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes remains a tantalising notion and we are currently in preparation for clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of this form of lifestyle intervention in various patient groups.”
Intermittent fasting is an increasingly popular diet plan that hit the headlines in the run up to Christmas 2012 after the release of a book on the subject. Proponents claim that in addition to weight loss, the diet can lead to longer life, and protection against disease, particularly conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Women eating more protein report weight loss success

 

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2013 – Atkins Diet, Zone Diet, South Beach Diet, etc., etc., etc. Chances are you have known someone who has tried a high protein diet. In fact, according to the International Food Information Council Foundation, 50% of consumers were interested in including more protein in their diets and 37% believed protein helps with weight loss.

In a new study released in the May/June 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers found a relatively high proportion of women who reported using the practice of ”eating more protein” to prevent weight gain, which was associated with reported weight loss.
Among a national sample, researchers from the University of Minnesota surveyed 1,824 midlife women (40-60 years old) to (1) describe perceptions about protein sources and requirements, (2) identify the reported frequency of using the ”eating more protein” practice to prevent weight gain, and (3) compare reported protein intake to reported frequency of using the ”eating more protein” practice to prevent weight gain.
Most women correctly identified good protein sources, and the majority could indicate the daily percent of dietary energy recommended from protein.

”Eating more protein” to prevent weight gain was reported by 43% of women (and more than half of obese women) as a practice to prevent weight gain.
Reported use of this practice was related to self-reported weight loss over two years. Two factors associated with effective use of this practice included the level of protein intake and self-efficacy toward weight management.
According to Noel Aldrich, lead author, those participants’ who had reported weight loss with “eating more protein” had a protein intake that was consistent with the focus on protein suggested by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
He said, “Education regarding dietary protein requirements may enhance the use of this practice. Women may need more information regarding protein energy content and effective selection of protein sources to enhance protein intake as a weight management strategy. Given that the majority of Americans are overweight, identifying the most effective practices and related factors surrounding successful weight loss and prevention of weight gain are important.”
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SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING WEB EXTRA:

 

 

Angel Garcia plays many roles for his son Danny: father, trainer and, most importantly, best friend.  The outspoken dad and his quiet-yet-confident son have been virtually inseparable since the undefeated rising star was born in a Philadelphia hospital with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.   From that frightening beginning through Angel's inspirational triumph over Stage 4 throat cancer, the father-son duo has risen together to lay claim to the Unified Super Lightweight World Championship.

 

Tune in this Saturday, April 27, LIVE on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT) to see if the Garcias can extend their unbeaten streak in hostile territory against former Two-Division World Champion and Brooklyn native Zab Judah at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

     

  

  TWEET NOW:Unified champ @DannySwift & his outspoken dad have always been inseparable.  Hear from them in a @SHOsports web extra http://s.sho.com/10UqFf5 

 

# # #

 

Garcia vs. Judah, a 12-round bout for Garcia's Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona and AT&T.  In the co-featured attraction, WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin puts his title on the line against hard-hitting Fernando Guerrero in a 12-round fight.  The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

 

Remaining tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.  For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.

The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance

 

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Join the movement that has reached millions of athletes and coaches; learn how to perform basic maintenance on your body, unlock your human potential, live pain free…and become a Supple Leopard.

Improve your athletic performance, extend your athletic career, treat body stiffness and achy joints, and rehabilitate injuries—all without having to seek out a coach, doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist, or masseur.
In Becoming a Supple Leopard, Kelly Starrett—founder of MobilityWod.com—shares his revolutionary approach to mobility and maintenance of the human body and teaches you how to hack your own human movement, allowing you to live a healthy, happier, more fulfilling life.
Performance is what drives the human animal, but the human animal can be brought to an abrupt halt by dysfunctional movement patterns.
Oftentimes, the factors that impede performance are invisible to not only the untrained eye, but also the majority of athletes and coaches.
Becoming a Supple Leopard, makes the invisible visible.
In this one of a kind training manual, Starrett maps out a detailed system comprised of more than two hundred techniques and illuminates common movement errors that cause injury and rob you of speed, power, endurance, and strength.
Whether you are a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or simply someone wanting to live healthy and free from restrictions,

Becoming a Supple Leopard, will teach you how to maintain your body and harness your genetic potential.
Learn How to:

• prevent and rehabilitate common athletic injuries
• overhaul your movement habits
• quickly identify, diagnose, and fix inefficient movement patterns
• problem solve for pain and dysfunction in austere environments with little equipment
• fix poor mechanics that rob power, bleed force, and dump torque
• unlock reservoirs of athletic capacity you didn’t know you had
• identify and fix poor movement patterns in children
• reverse the aging process
• develop strategies that restore function to your joints and tissues
• accelerate recovery after training sessions and competition
• create personalized mobility prescriptions to improve movement efficiency
• improve your quality of life through regained work capacity.
• run faster, jump higher, and throw farther

Read the first few pages of Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance

Kids specializing in one sport at young age makes no sense: new research

 

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — SAN DIEGO, CA – Ever-increasing requirements for success in competitive sports has created added pressure for young athletes to train with greater intensity at earlier ages. The goal to become the next Olympian or more commonly, to obtain a college scholarship, motivates many parents to encourage their children to specialize in one sport at a young age. This has resulted in an increased demand for year-round sport training programs, facilities and products. But is this approach really an effective way to generate long-term success in competitive athletics?

John P. DiFiori, MD, President of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, Chief of the Division of Sports Medicine and Non-Operative Orthopaedics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Team Physician for the UCLA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, says that few who specialize in one sport at a very young age make it to elite levels. “With the exception of select sports such as gymnastics in which the elite competitors are very young, the best data we have would suggest that the odds of achieving elite levels with this method are exceedingly poor. In fact, some studies indicate that early specialization is less likely to result in success than participating in several sports as a youth, and then specializing at older ages.”
Dr. DiFiori encourages youth attempt to a variety of sports and activities. He says this allows children to discover sports that they enjoy participating in, and offers them the opportunity to develop a broader array of motor skills. In addition, this may have the added benefit of limiting overuse injury and burnout.

A UCLA sports specialization study surveying 296 NCAA Division I male and female athletes, average age 19, found that 88 percent participated in an average of two to three sports as a children, and 70 percent did not specialize in one sport until after the age of 12. In a similar study of Olympians in Germany, results found that on average, the Olympians had participated in two other sports during childhood before or parallel to their main sport. Both studies support the concept of sports diversification in adolescence – not specialization.
In his nearly 20 years serving as a team physician for the UCLA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. DiFiori appreciates the benefits of sports participation in general – increased self-esteem, self-discipline, development of leadership qualities and social skills, and overall health and well-being. But he warns external pressure on a child to train and compete in one sport at an early age may cause more harm than good. Social isolation, lack of independence, preferential treatment, abusive relationship, burnout and injury are some of the potential negative effects.
“Physical activity contributes to a happy and healthy childhood,” says Dr. DiFiori, “however, parents, coaches and children should monitor and measure their involvement level in a singular sport against the overall well-being and future success of the participant.”
Dr. DiFiori presented, “Early Sports Participation: A Prescription for Success?” on Thursday, April 18, 2013, at the annual meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine in San Diego, Calif.

Menu labels displaying amount of exercise needed to burn calories show benefits

 

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Study looks at way to reduce calorie intake

Boston, MA—More restaurants are displaying calorie information on their menus than ever before. It’s not a coincidence; by law, retail food establishments that are part of a chain with twenty or more locations nationwide must disclose the calorie content of each menu item. The goal is to encourage consumers to make healthier, informed food choices. The majority of studies, however, show that providing information on calorie content does not lead to fewer calories ordered or consumed. A new angle for encouraging reduced calorie intake in these establishments would be welcome by many in the nutrition field. One currently being explored is displaying on the menu the minutes of exercise–brisk walking in this case–needed to burn food calories.
“We need a more effective strategy to encourage people to order and consume fewer calories from restaurant menus,” said Dr. Meena Shah, Texas Christian University (TCU). “Brisk walking is something nearly everyone can relate to, which is why we displayed on the menu the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories,” said Ashlei James, TCU.
Shah, the senior researcher, and James, the lead researcher and graduate student, recently conducted a study of 300 men and women ages 18-30. “The group was randomly assigned to a menu without calorie labels, a menu with calorie labels, or a menu with labels for the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn the food calories,” James said. “All menus contained the same food and beverage options, which included burgers, chicken sandwiches/tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda, and water.”

The results indicate that the menu displaying the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories led to fewer calories ordered and consumed compared with the menu without calorie labels. Of note, there was no difference between the menu with calorie labels and the menu without calorie labels in the number of calories ordered and consumed by the subjects.
“This study suggests there are benefits to displaying exercise minutes to a group of young men and women. We can’t generalize to a population over age 30, so we will further investigate this in an older and more diverse group,” Shah said. “This is the first study to look at the effects of displaying minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories on the calories ordered and consumed.”
The study was eye-opening for many of the subjects. “For example, a female would have to walk briskly for approximately 2 hours to burn the calories in a quarter-pound double cheeseburger,” said Shah.
Results from this study will be presented orally on April 23 at the Experimental Biology 2013 meeting in Boston.
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Beverley Adams-Huet, Joel Mitchell, Lyn Dart, Kelli Crisp, Marcel Turner, Mike Kasper, Jessica Bowman, Sarah Joeckel, Nicole Toomey, Heather Heefner, and Eric Blasco were coauthors on this abstract.
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