Category Archives: Uncategorized

Israeli President Shimon Peres Eats a Mediterranean Diet

Brief details are here.  Peres is 89, BTW.  He seems to prefer low-fat dairy when he eats dairy.  Probably no particular need for that unless you’re watching your weight (calories).

Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Disputes That Mediterranean Diet is the Best

From his article at the Huffington Post: 

My own personal opinion is you could design a dozen diet studies showing the superiority of a dozen different diets (from Atkins to Ornish to the Zone) as long as you compare each of them to the crap we’re eating now.

Read the rest.

As for Dr. Bowden’s repeated claim that there’s no specific Mediterranean diet, here’s one!  It’s as specific as any other mainstream named diet out there.

 

Fred Hahn Says Two Weekly Seesions of Weight Training Are Optimal

…in general.  See his recent blog post.  A snippet:

 “…2 weekly training sessions produced significantly better gains in lean weight than one session a week (3lbs. vs. <1lbs.) and better losses in fat mass.  Note that three strength sessions a week did not produce better gains in lean tissue. More exercise is not always better!”

I’m not very familiar with Fred’s exercise ideas, but they sound similar to what I’m doing personally.

For Low Back Pain, Walking Program May Be Just As Good As Clinic-Based Muscle Strengthening

…according to an article at ScienceDaily.  Excerpt:

Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer of Tel Aviv University’s Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that a simple aerobic walking program is as effective in alleviating lower back pain as muscle strengthening programs that require specialized equipment in rehabilitation clinics. The program includes walking two to three times a week for a period of 20 to 40 minutes.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  You know what they say about that.  Since back pain tends to flare and regress spontaneously, I wonder if an untreated control group would have improved like the two active intervention groups.

Click for Dr. Briffa’s view of the study.

Mel Thomassian’s Advice on Getting Started With Exercise

Here’s her post.  A snippet:

4. Change Your Mind Set

I’m not going to lie, it is a long, slow process to change how you think about some things. But, you need to begin somewhere.

If you’re always telling yourself that you’re no good at exercising, or you never have time to exercise, you will never be able to change for good.

It is imperative that you believe you can change, to actually see change.

So, start believing you can enjoy exercise.

Start believing you could fit it in to your schedule a few times each week.

Start believing you could even enjoy it.

There’s a saying that goes, fake it till you make it! Well, that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about here;

  • Self belief in your ability to perform well in a particular activity.
  • Congratulating yourself for your efforts.
  • Reinforcing the fact that you are doing something really good for your body.

On the other hand, Ken Hutchins says, “Do not try to make exercise enjoyable.  Do not try to make recreation exercise.”

Not So Fast: Sugar Consumption May Not Be a Cause of T2 Diabetes

Remember that recent report implicating sugar intake as a cause of type 2 diabetes?

GI News weighs in on its validity:

“A new study in Plos One reports an association between global sugar availability and diabetes prevalence. Despite the headline hype, this study does not in fact provide any strong new evidence that sugar causes type 2 diabetes. Many other better designed studies already provide much stronger evidence that sugar does in fact not cause diabetes. The glycemic and glycemic load are much more powerful predictors of type 2 diabetes risk.”

Sean Preuss on Fasting: Effects On Weight Loss, Health, and Longevity

Sean writes: 

“I do not recommend fasting for people who are pregnant, have eating disorders, or demonstrate unstable blood glucose. On the other hand, fasting can be an effective tool for weight loss and health improvement. Based on the research above, I think fasting with days of absolutely no calorie intake should be avoided to prevent muscle loss. When using other fasting techniques, pay extra attention to your daily protein intake to prevent or minimize muscle loss.”

Sean may be getting a little ahead of the science on this one.  I’m skeptical about his reference No. 4.  We clearly need more human research.  But that’s not going to help those who want to take action today.

Cellulitis Is Often MisDiagnosed

…according to an article at MedPageToday.  It’s not under-diagnosed, it’s over-diagnosed.  The problem instead may be stasis cellulitis or contact dermatitis, among others.

Drug Overdoses Below Age 50 Are a Major Contributor to U.S. Deaths

…in men, compared to other modern countries.  From the MedPageToday article: 

“Ho noted that 64% of deaths before age 50 were from accidental poisoning and among those, 91% were drug overdoses.”

Anaphyllactic shock from a dose of penicilin is one kind of accidental poisoning.  Miscalculating the dose of heroin you need to get high is not quite comparable.

Poor Sleep Quality? One Expert Says Avoid Caffeine For Entire Eight Hours Before Bedtime

…Click for details at the Wall Street Journal.