Exercise grossly underprescribed for chronic neck pain: Duke, UNC researchers

Exercise grossly underprescribed for chronic neck pain: Duke, UNC researchers

Common hypertension drugs can raise blood pressure in certain patients

ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2010) — Commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect -- raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem -- and select drugs most suitable for their patients -- by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available.

The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

"Our findings suggest that physicians should use renin levels to predict the most appropriate first drug for treating patients with hypertension," says lead author Michael Alderman, M.D., professor of epidemiology & population health and of medicine at Einstein. "This would increase the likelihood of achieving blood pressure control and reduce the need for patients to take additional antihypertensive medications."

OK, another reason to avoid drugs and just eat right and move more.

Motivation

Motivation: The choice between two possible outcomes.

That seems over-simplified. But is it?

Yummy dessert vs. no yummy dessert

Yummy dessert: short-term win
No yummy dessert: long-term win

What is your motivation?

Free Statins???

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100812083608.htm

"Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs free of charge so that customers can neutralise the heart disease dangers of fatty food, researchers at Imperial College London suggest in a new study."

Really???? How about just making better choices. Why are we always looking for the easy way out?

This sounds almost as dumb as wearing "toning sneakers." But that is another topic alltogther

Skip Breakfast - Lose Fat?!?!?!

Skip Breakfast before exercise to burn more fat- this according to a recent article in USA Today. The article states that European researchers found that cyclists that trained without eating burned more fat than those who did eat. The higher fat burning was due to having less carbohydrate reserve.

In a similar study, researchers found that people that didn’t eat had a decline in performance during intense activity. So we see from these studies that if you don’t eat before exercise you will burn a higher proportion of fat to carbs but you also show a decline in exercise performance.

Which begs the question; is it better to burn a higher percentage of fat or train harder?

In one study they did a comparison between 20 weeks of steady state cardio and 15 weeks of interval training (notice the 5 week difference). What was found was that although the interval group burned fewer calories during training, they also burned 9 times the subcutaneous fat as the steady state group.

Exercisers have to realize that their training response shouldn’t be just the one hour session but that what ultimately burns fat is the effect on the metabolism the other 23 hours of the day.

So what do we do? By looking at these studies if you are going to do some light cardiovascular exercise go ahead and do it on an empty stomach (keeping in mind any medical conditions that may contraindicate this). But if you plan on training with any intensity at all you are much better off having something in your system. The intensity of your exercise will always determine your results. Eating insures that you will have adequate intensity and we wont find you passed at somewhere with low blood sugar.

By the way, none of this crap matters if your nutrition strategy includes Diet Coke with Bacon!

Most internet-based sports medicine information is incorrect or incomplete: study

The internet can be a good thing if you have an injury, sometimes.....
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/aaoo-c070210.php

Half New Years?

Today marks the halfway point of the year.

The entire first half of 2010 has already passed.

So, how are those New Year's Resolutions looking now?

Are you on track with those New Years Resolutions? Are you on track with your goals?

If you wanted to lose 20lbs this year - are you down 10lbs already?
It's amazing how time passes so quickly.

Don't waste a single second.

If your goal is fat loss - start today!
If your goal is muscle building - start today!
If your goal is (inserthere) - start TODAY !

50% of this year is gone forever. Will you make changes TODAY or will another 25% pass, then another 50% -- and before you know it -- it's 2011.....



To help you along, we are having our Half New Years Resolution Sale! Purchase a package of 10 Personal Training Sessions for only $400. (limit one per customer)



Don't let another year pass you by, and don't let this offer get away, it expires July 15th!

GOOD LUCK MATT!

Today we wish Matt Lewellis a fond farewell! He has decided to return to Grad school to pursue a masters in Occupational Therapy. Matt was an intern with us, and made such an impression, we asked him to stay. Matt was a great team member for 5 years. Just remember that this isn't like undergrad, there are more books and less beer.

How fresh are your eggs?

Somthing I found at : http://whatscookingamerica.net

"The freshness of an egg is not only determined by the date when the egg was laid, but also by the way the egg has been stored. Proper handling and storage is perhaps the most important factor in determining freshness.

If a freshly laid egg is left at room temperature for a full day, it will not be as fresh as a week old egg that has been refrigerated between 33° and 40°F. from the time it was laid.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA):

Many eggs reach stores only a few days after the hen lays them. Egg cartons with the USDA grade shield on them, indicating they came from a USDA-inspected plant, must display the 'pack date' (the day that the eggs were washed, graded, and placed in the carton). The number is a three-digit code that represents the consecutive day of the year (the 'Julian Date') starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365.

Though not required, most egg cartons also contain a "sell by" date beyond which they should not be sold. In USDA-inspected plants (indicated by the USDA shield on the package), this date can't exceed 30 days beyond the pack date which is within USDA regulations. Always purchase eggs before their "sell by" date.


How long are eggs good after the sell date?

Refrigerated raw shell eggs will keep without significant quality loss for about 4 to 5 weeks beyond the pack date or about 3 weeks after you bring them home.

A general rule to follow is that any egg that looks or smells odd should not be used. If an egg is bad you will know it. Just smell the egg! Just crack each egg in a small bowl, smell it - your nose will tell you!


How to test if an egg is fresh

First Method:

Fill a deep bowl with water and carefully lower the egg into the water. A very fresh egg will immediately sink to the bottom and lie flat on its side. This is because the air cell within the egg is very small. The egg should also fee quite heavy.

As the egg starts to lose it freshness and more air enters the egg, it will begin to float and stand upright. The smaller end will lie on the bottom of the bowl, while the broader end will point towards the surface. The egg will still be good enough to consume.

However, if the egg fully floats in the water and does not touch the bottom of the bowl at all, it should be discarded, as it will most likely be bad.


Second Method:

Test the eggs freshness by breaking the egg onto a flat plate, not into a bowl. The yolk of a very fresh egg will have a round and compact appearance and it will sit positioned quite high up in the middle of the egg. The white that surrounds it will be thick and stays close to the yolk.

A less fresh egg will contain a flatter yolk, that may bread easily and a thinner white that spreads quite far over the plate.


How to store eggs?

Buy refrigerated eggs and store them in the refrigerator as soon as your get home. However, even under refrigeration, eggs slowly lose carbon dioxide, which enlarges the size of the air cell and causes the yolk to flatten and the white to spread."

Go to http://whatscookingamerica.net for more great articles on food.

Weight Loss???

Weight loss…You can talk about the latest and greatest diet craze or infomercial, but at its most basic form, it comes down to calories in vs. calories out. You must burn more calories in one day than you take in. Its called caloric deficit. So of course it came to a surprise to me one day when I found Hershey’s Kisses wrappers on one our treadmills. How much caloric deficit occurred that day for this individual?

Chris

The Start of Summer

Memorial Day just a few days ago, what is considered the unofficial start to summer. Time to start wearing less clothes and showing off the body that you have been working so hard for. How was it for you? Have you kept all of those New Year’s resolutions? Remember 5 months ago when you made a promise to yourself to eat better and work out more? How has been going?

It’s not too late to start now! Eating right and working out for the next two months, and big changes can occur before Labor Day.

Chris

New Blog!

New HPC blog coming soon! Look for all the latest news and views from the Lehigh Valley's Premier fitness center!