‘Work Out New York’ Trainers Reveal Their Top Fitness Secrets
Photo: Courtesy of Bravo
What happens when you put seven New York City-based fitness trainers together and the cameras start rolling? You get a bird’s eye view of some amazingly toned bodies…and a whole lot of drama. And I am sure that is what Bravo was counting on when it launched its latest reality series, Work Out New York, which debuted last night.
The premiere episode featured some trainers were really feeling themselves, but egos aside, these men and women are at the top of their game, helping sculpt bodies at some of the NYC’s hottest workout studios (Flywheel, Barry’s Bootcamp, Orangetheory). What’s more, many have whipped the bodies of celebrities and professional athletes into amazing shape. So we caught up with three of the stars of the new show to swap fitness secrets. One thing they all agreed on: squats are one of the most important exercises for women (read why further down).
Here’s what else we learned…
The trainer: Holly Rilinger
Credentials: A 10-year fitness vet who is a Nike Master Trainer, Flywheel Sports Master Trainer, Certified Personal Trainer, and Group X Instructor.
Fitness philosophy: It’s about the way you feel when you’re walking out the door! Sure, fitness regimens are about getting lean, looking sexy and, of course, being healthy, but the real magic is the feeling you take with you. It’s that “on top of the world” feeling you get that will find its way into all facets of your life. When you start to understand that, you begin to understand that working out is something that you just CANNOT do without.
RELATED: 9 Best Fitness Trackers
Is it wrong to just stick with one specific workout all of the time?
Our bodies will adjust to any workout after a period of time, making the workout less effective. When I create programs for my clients, I change the regimen every three weeks. If you’re doing a specific group class, you should incorporate others for variety. Lift heavier, increase the circuit, and throw in some indoor cycling and/or boxing classes. There are endless ways to sweat, so MIX IT UP.
What are your top three must-do exercises for women and why?
My Flywheel indoor cycling class! No seriously, indoor cycling is the one place where you can lose yourself and leave the room completely drenched in sweat, uplifted, and worked. Squats. You not only work your legs, which house the biggest muscles on your body, but you also activate your core. You’re chasing down the beautiful booty and sexy abs, as well as burning the max calories in one simple move. And burpees. It’s a great full-body exercise that requires zero equipment. You work both your upper body and lower body while stabilizing with your core.
How to do a burpee:
What is the one thing you think folks do and are unaware of that is keeping them from reaching their fitness goals?
A great workout will NEVER overcome a bad diet. Eating unhealthy is negating all your fitness efforts. It’s almost like your workout doesn’t count.
What is your biggest gym pet peeve?
People not working hard. I just don’t understand it. Either show up or don’t. When you walk through that door, whether it’s into the indoor cycling stadium or your gym, flip that switch “ON.” Get into the ZONE! Decide that nothing is going to stop you and leave everything else at the door. THAT is how you make big changes.
What is your favorite pre- and post-workout snack?
Pre workout, I’ll have a banana with a scoop of almond butter. Post sweat, I go BIG! I’m all about a big piece of grilled chicken and a variety of organic veggies, especially Brussels sprouts, and sometimes a sweet potato. My current obsession is a bottle of Maple Water.
RELATED: 11 Ways to Stop Overeating After Your Workouts
What is one fitness trend you wish would die right now?
Waist trainers. I mean…are you serious? Just stop it. You are not going to lose 2-4 inches off your waist by compressing your core. These types of endorsements really make me angry. Show me the science behind this and while you’re doing the research why not just eat clean and get to the gym. There’s your 2-4 inches.
What is the one thing you would never go a day without doing?
Creating an amazing playlist. Great tunes lead to a great workout. Right now, I’m into some old school hip-hop. And, I always love some Jay Z, Rihanna, Biggie and I’m very much into Justin Bieber’s new album (don’t hate!). Pick some fresh tunes every week. We are never in the same mindset…. so we always need new inspiration. Also, I rarely go a day without my morning sweat. It changes my brain chemistry. It lights my fire. It makes everything else in my day come together. I take one full day off per week, otherwise you can find me sweating in the early AM.
Trainer: Courtney Paul
Credentials: Licensed with the National Council for Certified Personal Trainer, he has helped develop eating an fitness plans for high-end sports clubs including David Barton Gym and Barry’s Bootcamp. He’s also worked with celebrities and professional athletes such as Alan Cumming, Jane Krakowski, Dylan McDermott, Katie Holmes Tara Lipinski as well as models Ashley Graham and Alina Baikova.
Fitness Philosophy: Push past your mental limits because where you want to back off and give up is the exact place where your results live.
It can be hard sticking to a fitness regime, especially when you don’t see changes right away.
You may not see the results right away but you will thank yourself the day you notice a new sculpt in your body. It may not be tomorrow or the day after but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
What exercises are a must for women?
Squats are number one—not only do they target the body’s largest muscle group, the legs, but it also works every man’s favorite, the backside. Two, triceps dips. They focus on the arms, help build upper body strength, and keeps away the loose flabby arms. And three, Side Bends— they help keep the midsection snatched and tight by strengthening your body’s natural girdle, the obliques.
RELATED: Try this Side Bend Variation With an Exercise Ball
What do you think of cheat meals?
Cheat meals and cheat days only push you further and further away from your results. Stay focused and on track. Rather than food or drinks treat yourself to material items like a new wardrobe to go with your new body.
What song gets you hyped to workout?
Reach Up (Peter Rauhofer Original Mix) by Celeda. When I train or teach a class I like to throw in songs with a positive message about getting to the next level from wherever you are. It also helps that this beat is sick!
What is your favorite pre-workout snack?
I usually eat a light protein and carb-filled snack such as tuna fish on a rice cake or a slice of sprouted bread with natural almond butter.
Any fitness trend you aren’t really feeling?
Any form of movement is a good thing especially when most Americans are nailed to a desk the majority of their day, so I promote all the trends, styles and methods if it pushes the client towards being better today than they were yesterday.
What is the one thing you would never go a day without doing?
Being active, be it a walk, a run, or a workout. In some way shape or form keep the body moving, and be thankful for what you have while constantly working towards the best version of you possible.
The Trainer: Joe Lazo
Credentials: He’s trained in elite fitness clubs, including David Barton Gym and Complete Body, and holds five certifications: ACE, NCCPT, CrossFit Level 1, CrossFit Movement & Mobility, and CrossFit Kettlebell Trainer.
Fitness philosophy: Fitness is only going to work if you are doing it for the reasons that are going to directly increase your quality of life. It only makes you feel better if you are doing it to be a better you. If you are doing it to look like John Doe in the magazine, then you are now trying to be the best him. That will never work, and it now increases your own discouragement.
RELATED: Take the 30-Day Weight Loss Challenge
What advice would you give someone who has been dedicated to eating healthy and exercising regularly and has now reached a plateau?
That all depends on what the goals are. If the person is trying to bulk up muscle mass then I would revise the diet, increase her complex carb intake and increase overall caloric count. If they are plateauing in strength gains then I would tell them to completely switch up their style of training. They need to create a different stimulus for their muscle confusion. If you normally lift with isotonic movements, switch it up to Olympic lifting, or implement gymnastics (body weight exercises) into your programming. Plain and simple, you have to shock your skeletal muscular system.
What are three must-do exercises for women?
In order of importance: Squats, push-ups, and rowing (ergonomic machine). The reason: women are significantly more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. Heavy lifting develops bones density, and bone density decreases the chances of osteoporosis. Squats are great for legs, glutes, and core. Pushups are great for triceps, pectorals, shoulder capsule, and anterior deltoids. The rowing machine is great for the back, biceps, and cardiorespiratory.
Is there anything that folks may not realize is keeping them from their fitness goals?
I don’t think there is anything that people are unaware of that is hindering their fitness goals. Everyone who drinks alcohol knows very well that they are drinking nothing but empty calories and sugar, and most importantly that it dehydrates the muscles. I have NEVER met a single person that refrained from using alcohol as a social crutch and it didn’t significantly speed up their results.
Any gym pet peeves?
My biggest one is watching trainers make their clients do exercises they don’t even do in their own programming. No individual, in any industry, has the right to make someone endure something they haven’t tried and tested themselves. You don’t know something just because you read it somewhere.
What do you reach for post workout?
Chocolate milk.
Any wacky trends that make you roll your eyes in disgust?
There are plenty that I don’t personally agree with or believe in, but anything that gets a person off of their ass and engaged in physical activity is a good thing in my opinion.
Is there one thing— fitness or health wise—that you must do every day?
Walking. I was 10 years old when we were hit by the Blizzard of ’96 in the tri-state area. We had 3.5 inches of snow and you couldn’t drive anywhere for a couple days. We needed some food and my mother walked the 2 miles to the closest supermarket in the snow. I know it sounds silly, but since that day I have always viewed walking as action of strength. And since I have been living in New York City I have walked home from work almost everyday regardless of the neighborhood I lived in and where I was coming from.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1NBUJsb
Risky Sexual Behaviors Put Many Young Gay Men at Risk of HIV: Study
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Young American gay and bisexual men who have detectable blood levels of HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — are also more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior that might spread the virus, a new study has found.
“While many of these young men are engaged in care, and success stories are many, we still have work to do to reduce the rate of new infections,” study author Patrick Wilson, an assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said in a university news release.
Different strategies to help prevent HIV infections and promote safe sex are needed for this group, his team wrote in the Dec. 7 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
According to the researchers, young men between the ages of 13 and 29 who are gay or bisexual are particularly vulnerable to infection with HIV and now account for more than 25 percent of new infections in the United States each year.
The new study sought to determine who is most at risk, and why. The research involved nearly 1,000 young gay and bisexual men between the ages of 15 and 26. All had visited teen HIV clinics in the United States between December 2009 and June 2012.
According to Wilson’s team, more than two-thirds of the men — 69 percent — had detectable levels of HIV.
Investigating further, the researchers found that 46 percent of these young men had engaged in anal sex without a condom over the past three months. Moreover, 31 percent of the participants who had a partner with a different HIV status — one was infected, one was not — engaged in sexual behavior that put the uninfected partner at risk.
Young men with detectable levels of the virus were more likely to have anal sex without a condom with a partner who didn’t have HIV, compared to participants who did not have detectable levels of the virus, the Columbia study showed.
Of those with detectable HIV, 55 percent reported having anal sex without a condom. In contrast, 44 percent of the young gay men whose HIV was suppressed or undetectable (typically due to medication use) did the same.
Among the men with detectable HIV, 35 percent had unprotected anal sex with an HIV-negative partner. Of the men with suppressed HIV, 25 percent had unsafe sex with a partner who had a different HIV status.
Risky sexual behavior was more common among gay and bisexual men with detectable HIV who also had problems with substance abuse, the researchers noted. It was also more common among the men with detectable HIV who disclosed their status to their partners.
“Combination HIV prevention and treatment interventions, which include behavioral, biomedical and structural strategies to increase viral suppression and reduce HIV transmission risk behaviors, that target HIV-infected young men who have sex with men are needed,” Wilson said. “To truly curb HIV incidence among this group of individuals, we cannot solely rely on one strategy to prevent and treat HIV.”
One expert said young gay men remain a source of concern when it comes to HIV infection.
“We have known that HIV has decreased in most age groups in the United States, but continues to increase in all patients aged 13-24, and even more so in gay and bisexual men in this age group,” said Dr. David Rosenthal, who directs the Center for Young Adult, Adolescent, and Pediatric HIV at
North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y.
The study suggests that men “who were most likely to have condomless anal intercourse with a person who is not living with HIV were black/African American race, drank alcohol daily and were at-risk teen substance abusers,” he said. “Thus, we need to make sure our HIV prevention strategies are specifically reaching out to those individuals.”
One proven HIV prevention strategy is the use of drugs like Truvada, or PreP, “an FDA-approved medication that is given daily to patients who do not have HIV, but who are engaging in behaviors which could make them acquire HIV, in order to prevent the transmission of HIV,” Rosenthal said.
“This study speaks to specific subpopulations of patients who may most need PrEP, and how we must reach out to these patients — who traditionally are underserved by the medical community — to provide them with the best health care we can,” he added.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides more information on stages of HIV infection.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiY5P
Experts Issue Guidelines on Caring for Breast Cancer Survivors
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Battling breast cancer is tough, but survivors need care, too. Now, two major groups in cancer care have issued guidelines on the type of follow-up these patients require.
The protocols, released jointly by the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, are “much needed for the 3.1 million breast cancer survivors who are alive in the United States today,” said one expert, Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, a medical oncologist with North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute in Lake Success, N.Y.
“Survivorship is defined as living with, through and beyond cancer, and each of these phases comes with unique concerns and challenges,” she said.
According to the new guidelines, regular monitoring of patients for the return of any cancer is one key recommendation.
This monitoring should include evaluation — such as a detailed cancer history and physical examination — and patients should also be screened for any new primary breast cancer.
However, in patients with no symptoms, the current evidence does not support routine laboratory tests or medical imaging (scans), except for mammography when indicated, the guidelines say.
Primary care doctors should advise breast cancer survivors about the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and adhere to endocrine therapy — hormonal treatments such as tamoxifen, used to keep cancer at bay.
Patients should also be monitored for post-treatment symptoms that could harm their quality of life, the guidelines say.
The new protocols also provide information on a number of other issues that might face breast cancer survivors, such as thinking and memory problems, body image, fatigue and problems with coordinating care.
“Breast cancer survivors face potentially significant impacts of cancer and its treatment, and deserve high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated clinical follow-up care,” the guideline authors wrote.
“Primary care clinicians must consider each patient’s individual risk profile and preferences of care to address physical and psychosocial impacts,” they added.
Another expert agreed that, while the need for standardized guidelines is clear, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to caring for survivors.
The new advisory “helps create a more uniform plan of action for breast cancer patients,” said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “One must remember, however, that there may be times to deviate from the norm and methods of surveillance need to be discussed with a patient’s doctor, as well.”
More information
The Breast Cancer Survivors Foundation offers resources for breast cancer survivors.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiZqt
Marijuana Chemical Shows Promise for Hard-to-Treat Epilepsy in Kids
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Evidence is mounting that a marijuana-derived oil might benefit some children with epilepsy whose seizures aren’t controlled by approved medications, two new studies show.
Cannabidiol (CBD) significantly reduced seizures in as many as half of children with epilepsy, researchers planned to report Monday at the American Epilepsy Society’s annual meeting, in Philadelphia.
But experts say these positive findings may have been influenced by a “placebo effect.” All participants in these studies knew they were taking the oil, which could have affected reports of its effectiveness.
“We know that our placebo rates can be as high as 30 percent, and sometimes higher,” said Dr. Amy Brooks-Kayal, American Epilepsy Society president, who wasn’t involved in the studies.
“We don’t know the real effect of the cannabidiol, and we won’t until we complete the studies that are ongoing that are placebo-controlled and blinded,” added Brooks-Kayal, who is also a professor of pediatrics, neurology and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
There also are concerns that cannabidiol may interact badly with some anti-seizure medications approved for epilepsy treatment, according to another study scheduled for presentation at the meeting.
Cannabidiol is a major chemical component of marijuana, said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a neurologist at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center in New York City and co-author of one of the studies.
CBD doesn’t produce intoxication like pot’s other major chemical compound, THC. But, researchers believe it may interact with a brain receptor that plays a role in the development of seizures, Devinsky said.
“This receptor has several effects, but one of them may be to modulate the calcium inside and outside the neuron, which is very much related to the excitability of nerve cells,” he explained.
Previous studies have shown some benefit in adults, and word has spread. Families with adults and children with epilepsy have flocked to states where medical marijuana is legal to seek treatment, Brooks-Kayal said.
“There is a fairly active and vocal group of families in Colorado who are using cannabidiol oils that are made artisanally,” she said.
To see whether children with epilepsy would benefit from cannabidiol treatment, Devinsky led a study involving 261 people, mostly children, whose seizures had not been controlled using current anti-seizure medications. The average age of the participants was 11.
Everyone received a British-made cannabidiol oil called Epidiolex, which was administered as a drop on the tongue, Devinsky said. This was in addition to their current drug therapy.
After three months, seizure frequency declined by an average 45 percent in all participants. Almost half experienced a 50 percent or greater reduction in seizures, and about one of every 10 patients became seizure-free, the study found.
“This was a very, very treatment-resistant group, and the response was very promising,” Devinsky said.
A second study from the University of California, San Francisco, explored the long-term effectiveness of cannabidiol for children with epilepsy, by adding the marijuana-derived oil to the regular drug regimen of about 25 kids for one year.
The study found that after a year, the treatment resulted in a 50 percent reduction in seizures for 10 participants — about 40 percent of the group. One child remained seizure-free, but 12 of the initial participants dropped out of the study because the cannabidiol didn’t seem to do them any good.
Although he said he would prescribe CBD to people with uncontrolled seizures, Devinsky said he is “very anxious” to see the results of ongoing randomized, controlled clinical trials. The results of one major trial are expected in the first quarter of 2016, he added.
If CBD proves effective in controlled trials, it could be two to five years before the drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Devinsky noted.
Federal regulators also will have to weigh potential interactions of cannabidiol with other anti-seizure drugs. Another study scheduled for presentation at the meeting found that CBD appeared to enhance the effects of the epilepsy medication levetiracetam (Keppra), when given to lab mice.
However, the oil appeared to interact negatively with two other drugs, clobazam (Onfi) and carbamazepine (Tegretol), the University of Utah researchers found.
Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
More information
For more on medical marijuana, visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IAoklu
Infant Weight Gain Linked to Possible Type 1 Diabetes Risk
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Norwegian researchers have linked weight gain during the first year of life to a possible higher risk of type 1 diabetes.
The mean weight gain during the first year of life was more than 6 kilograms (about 14 pounds), the study found. And for each additional kilogram (2.2 pounds) of weight gained during the first year of life above the mean, babies had 20 percent greater odds of developing type 1 diabetes by age 9 years, the researchers said.
“The findings indicate that the early childhood environment influences the likelihood of developing type 1 diabetes,” said lead researcher Maria Magnus, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.
But, the researchers added that early weight gain would be only one of a number of factors that influence the diabetes risk, and they don’t advise parents or doctors to attempt to reduce infant growth with the aim of reducing the risk of type 1 diabetes in their child.
In addition, Magnus said the connection between weight gain in the first year of life and the increased risk for type 1 diabetes is only an observation. The study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship between early weight gain and type 1 diabetes, the researchers said.
And, she added, “there is no simple advice that we can give to parents based on this study.”
About 5 percent of people with diabetes have type 1 disease, according to the American Diabetes Association. It’s an autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to mistakenly destroy the beta cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin. Magnus said the environmental risk factors for the disease aren’t well understood.
In type 1 diabetes, the autoimmune attack leaves the body without the ability to produce insulin. Insulin is essential for breaking down sugars in foods and getting it from the bloodstream into cells, where glucose is the main source of energy. People with type 1 diabetes need to replace the lost insulin, usually through multiple injections every day.
The study authors speculated that the extra stress put on pancreatic beta cells to make more insulin to balance the weight gain may damage them. The increased risk might also be caused by changes in the bacteria in the gut, they suggested.
Still, “it is too early to change any practice, for instance regarding infant feeding, because of these findings,” Magnus said.
At best, early weight gain would be only one among a number of factors that influence the risk of type 1 diabetes, and any such action may have potential side effects, she said.
“After all, the absolute risk of developing type 1 diabetes for a child is relatively modest, and any potential influence of weight gain is likely to be of limited magnitude for most individuals,” Magnus said.
The report was published in the Dec. 7 online issue of JAMA Pediatrics.
For the study, Magnus and colleagues collected data on almost 100,000 children born between February 1998 and July 2009. The children were part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and the Danish National Birth Cohort. The average age of children at the end of follow-up was nearly 9 years in the children from Norway and 13 years in children from Denmark.
Only 146 of the Norwegian children, and 121 of the Danish children developed type 1 diabetes during the study, according to the report.
Dr. Joshua Tarkoff, a pediatric endocrinologist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, said, “Doctors should keep an eye on early weight gain in infants.”
Tarkoff pointed out that parents and doctors are usually concerned that babies gain enough weight during the first year of life.
“We are pretty good at making sure kids gain an adequate amount of weight, but we should also make sure that our babies are receiving adequate nutrition and not gaining too much weight,” he said.
Whether the link to type 1 diabetes and early weight gain is the same in the United States as it is in Norway and Denmark is unknown, Tarkoff said.
However, parents should ensure that their babies are at a healthy weight, he suggested.
“We don’t want any baby to be too small, but we know the dangers of being too big — including diabetes,” he said.
More information
For more about type 1 diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiXir
Could Dim View on Aging Raise Your Alzheimer’s Risk?
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Young and middle-aged adults who harbor negative thoughts about aging may face a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease decades later, new research suggests.
The investigation compared early attitudes on aging expressed by dementia-free adults to Alzheimer’s-related brain changes nearly 30 years later.
“What we found is that negative perceptions on aging are definitely significantly related to [Alzheimer’s] disease indicators,” said study lead author Becca Levy, an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn.
But why? Levy said the study wasn’t designed to answer that question.
And the study only found a link between stereotypes about aging and later Alzheimer’s risk.
But Levy speculated that it could be that a pessimistic stance on aging drives up stress. And stress, in turn, drives up Alzheimer’s risk, she said.
“Regardless, the positive message here is that our thinking about aging is modifiable,” she said. “It can be changed. So if we can reduce ageism, and promote more-positive views on getting older, it could perhaps be one way to reduce Alzheimer’s risk.”
Another expert doubts that stress alone is the culprit.
More research is needed to understand the association, said Dr. Amy Kelley, an associate professor in the Brookdale department of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
It’s an “interesting association, but it’s very hard to interpret, because there’s a really wide range of things, besides stress, that could be involved,” said Kelley.
“Maybe those with more-negative views don’t bother exercising. Or maybe they eat less well,” she pointed out. “There could be a myriad of pathways that play a role.”
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder that affects more than 5 million Americans, most of them older than 65, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The study findings were published in the Dec. 7 online edition of Psychology and Aging.
The research team first focused on more than 50 men and women who were dementia-free when they enrolled in the large, multi-decade Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. That project, launched by the U.S. National Institute on Aging in 1958, is the longest running American study on aging.
Years later, all participants underwent annual brain-imaging scans (MRIs) for up to 10 years, with an average of seven scans per person. The goal was to pinpoint any changes in the size of the hippocampus region of the brain, an area known to play a critical role in memory regulation.
Scan results were then paired against the views each participant had offered about a quarter-century earlier to 16 age stereotypes, such as “old people are absent-minded.”
Over the course of a decade, the scans showed all participants experienced at least some decline in the size of their hippocampus. However, even after accounting for factors such as age, education and gender, those who had held grimmer views on aging decades earlier experienced significantly greater size reductions than more-optimistic respondents, the researchers found.
Moreover, adults who subscribed to more-negative age stereotypes were found to experience the same degree of hippocampus shrinkage in three years as those with more-positive views experienced in nine years.
The research team also performed brain autopsies on 74 participants who died at an average age of about 89. About three-quarters were men, and all were 60 and older.
The autopsy examiners looked for two well-known markers for Alzheimer’s disease: protein clusters known as amyloid plaques, and twisted protein strands known as tangles.
Plaque and tangle presence was then correlated with the attitudes on aging the deceased participants had expressed nearly three decades before.
Again, those who held more-negative views on aging early on were found to have a significantly greater presence of plaques and tangles, the study authors said.
More information
There’s more on Alzheimer’s risk at the Alzheimer’s Association.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiYTe
Infertile Men May Have Higher Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Infertile men may have a higher risk of developing other health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and substance abuse disorders, compared with fertile men, a new study suggests.
“We found that infertile men developed several chronic diseases in the years following an infertility evaluation,” said lead researcher Dr. Michael Eisenberg, director of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Stanford University Medical School, in Palo Alto, California.
“What’s interesting is that these are young, healthy men,” he said. “Prior studies suggested a higher risk of [testicular] cancer or even death. But for the first time, we are seeing higher risk of these metabolic diseases.”
These findings suggest that infertility may provide a window into later health, Eisenberg added.
For the study, Eisenberg and colleagues collected data on more than 100,000 men from an insurance claims database between 2001 and 2009. Their average age was 33.
The researchers zeroed in on general health conditions of three groups of males: men diagnosed with infertility, men who didn’t receive an infertility diagnosis and men who had had a vasectomy, who were presumed to be fertile.
The researchers found that infertile men had a 48 percent higher rate of heart disease and about 30 percent higher odds of diabetes, even after compensating for obesity and smoking. They also had higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse, the researchers said.
Moreover, those with the most severe form of infertility had the highest risk of kidney disease and alcohol abuse, Eisenberg said.
The study doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between infertility and chronic diseases, however.
But, the researchers speculated that hormonal and/or environmental factors may be involved.
Lower levels of testosterone in infertile men may be linked to higher rates of death and heart disease, they suggested.
Also, exposure to harmful environmental influences during fetal development might lead to both reproductive and general health problems later in life, Eisenberg said. Perhaps some of the same exposures that are related to heart disease later in life also reduce sperm count, he said.
“Thus, when a couple presents for infertility, there may be an opportunity to make a positive impact on a man’s health through an evaluation of his fertility,” Eisenberg said.
Dr. Christine Mullin, director of in vitro fertilization at the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., said it does appear that men faced with infertility also face the potential for other health problems.
“The question really is which comes first, the heart disease or diabetes, or the infertility?” said Mullin, who wasn’t involved with the research.
Infertility affects approximately 15 percent of couples, and male infertility is the cause in about half of all cases, Mullin said.
“Many men are seeing an infertility specialist as their first doctor in their adult lives,” she said. “It is important that these doctors understand that the semen analysis is not only a screening tool to diagnose male infertility but also a means to uncover other health-related issues.”
Infertility can be a warning sign of overall poor health in men, “and as reproductive specialists we need to act as first responders in helping men to achieve optimal health,” Mullin said.
The study findings were published Dec. 7 in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
More information
For more on male infertility, visit the Urology Care Foundation.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiXif
Jimmy Carter’s Recovery Highlights Power of New Cancer Treatments
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Former President Jimmy Carter’s remarkable response to his treatment for brain cancer can be chalked up in part to significant recent advances in medicine, cancer experts say.
Carter, 91, announced on Sunday that brain scans have shown there are no longer any signs of the melanoma cancer that had spread to his brain. That does not mean, however, that he has been cured of the cancer, and he will continue to undergo medical treatment.
His successful treatment benefited from improvements in radiation therapy and immunotherapy, said Dr. Alexis Demopoulos, director of neuro-oncology at North Shore-LIJ’s Brain Tumor Center in Lake Success, N.Y.
“I’m not surprised he did as well as he did,” said Demopoulos. “We’re on the edge of a revolution in oncology.”
Early detection of Carter’s brain lesions also helped, as did the relatively small size and fortuitous location of the tumors, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
“He had a relatively low tumor burden that was treatable,” Lichtenfeld said.
The good news comes roughly three months after Carter began treatment for four small lesions in his brain and had surgery to remove part of his liver.
Carter said in a statement Sunday that he will continue to take Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug that helps his body recognize and fight any stray cancer cells.
“My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones,” Carter said in the statement.
Carter first announced in August that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to his brain, sharing the news on the day of his first radiation treatment for the brain lesions.
He underwent four rounds of radiation therapy and Keytruda every three weeks. Experts said both those treatments represent significant advances in medicine.
Radiation therapy for brain cancer has benefited from the development of a procedure called stereotactic radiosurgery, which uses computers to tightly focus the beams of radiation onto tumors while sparing nearby healthy brain tissue, Demopoulos said.
“It’s become very common to have excellent control of brain metastases with radiation treatment,” he said.
Keytruda and other immunotherapy drugs also have improved treatment of brain cancer by unleashing the immune system to attack cancer cells, experts said.
Chemotherapy has traditionally been ineffective against brain cancer because the cancer-killing chemicals have a difficult time crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack tumor cells, Lichtenfeld said.
Because immune cells readily pass through the blood-brain barrier, immunotherapy drugs have shown promise in both killing cancer cells in the brain and preventing cancer from spreading further throughout the body, Lichtenfeld and Demopoulos said.
Cancer cells develop receptors that basically cloak them from the immune system, preventing the body from recognizing and targeting the abnormal cells, Demopoulos said.
“Keytruda blocks the cancer from telling the immune system to go away, by binding those receptors and preventing the cancer from flipping that off-switch,” he said.
Lichtenfeld cautioned that no one is sure what specific parts of Carter’s treatment caused such a dramatic response, and added that the tumors themselves were caught at a very treatable stage.
“In the president’s situation, the doctors were able to find tumors at a very small size,” about 2 millimeters, he said. “When you talk about melanoma in the brain and you find it at a small size, the treatments can be more effective.”
It’s also unclear whether Carter will wind up suffering a recurrence of his cancer, Lichtenfeld added.
“He did not say he was cured. He said he had no evidence of cancer,” Lichtenfeld said. “It is certainly possible he could go on for a significant period of time without any new metastases. It is also possible that the melanoma could recur in a shorter period of time. We don’t know what the future holds for him.”
During his treatment, Carter continued to do volunteer work, according to the Associated Press.
“I’ve reacted well to the treatments,” Carter told the wire service in November. “I haven’t been uncomfortable or ill after the treatments were over. So that part of it has been a relief to me and I think to the doctors.”
Keytruda is a pricey drug, with a year’s supply costing about $150,000.
But Demopoulos noted that Keytruda also is a very new drug, with the first results of its clinical trial published in The Lancet in 2014.
“These drugs are expensive to test. They’re expensive to develop. And it’s expensive to have large trials,” Demopoulos said. “When they first published the data, they did not have more than 8 months of follow-up in the patients they were treating. That’s how fast things are changing.”
After 15 months of follow-up, the trials have shown that seven out of 10 melanoma patients respond to the drug, and six out of 10 had a survival rate of two years or more, he said.
“Yes, these drugs are expensive, but they save a lot of lives,” Demopoulos said.
More information
For more on brain cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1TUiYCQ
4 Spa Treatments That Might Be Dangerous
Photo: Getty Images
A day at the spa should leave you feeling healthy, relaxed, and rejuvenated. But some beauty or (so-called) wellness treatments probably aren’t worth your money—and some could even be harmful. Medi-spas made headlines in October for an extreme case after a Nevada woman died in a cryotherapy chamber, but the reality is there are other potential dangers lurking in this largely unregulated industry.
“There are a lot of mistruths and strange beliefs out there about what’s good for you when you go to a spa,” says Leena Nathan, MD, a physician in the UCLA Health system. “It’s important to remember that just because a service is offered, that doesn’t mean it’s safe or effective.” Before you pamper yourself this holiday season, read up on these treatments you may be better off without.
Skip it: Cryotherapy
The act of exposing parts of the body to freezing temperatures can actually be safe and beneficial, Dr. Nathan says; it’s used to remove warts and destroy cancer cells, and some athletes even say it improves muscle recovery.
But recently, whole-body cryotherapy chambers have been touted as a beauty and anti-aging treatment that can supposedly reduce cellulite, even skin tone, and treat skin conditions like psoriasis and acne. For these claims, there’s no real evidence, Dr. Nathan says.
On top of that, these machines usually aren’t regulated or operated by medical professionals. “Going into a chamber is not recommended from a medical perspective,” Dr. Nathan says. “As a physician, I wouldn’t be comfortable telling a patient that this is safe.”
In Las Vegas, a spa employee was killed after she entered a cryotherapy chamber by herself, after hours; it was later determined that she died from lack of oxygen. Nevada has since issued guidelines about how and by whom cryotherapy should be used, but other states have fewer—if any—regulations.
RELATED: The 20 Biggest Lessons We Learned About Our Health in 2015
Proceed with caution: Laser hair removal
As the popularity of laser hair removal has grown, so have the number of treatments gone terribly wrong. When used improperly, the powerful light pulses used to destroy hair follicles can also cause serious skin burns, scarring, and pain.
“Laser hair therapy is safe in the right hands,” Dr. Nathan says, “when it’s done by a reputable dermatologist, as opposed to a random medi-spa employee.” And in fact, 78% of lawsuits filed in 2011 for injury from laser surgeries (including hair removal) were directed at practitioners other than doctors—up from just 36% in 2008, according to a UCLA study published in JAMA Dermatology in 2013. The study also found that 80% of lawsuits filed between 2008 and 2012 were for treatments that took place outside of a traditional physician’s office.
Every state regulates laser use differently, with some requiring doctors to be on-site and others with no rules at all. To be safe, Dr. Nathan says, only consider laser therapy performed by or under the direct supervision of a medical professional.
Skip it: Colon cleanses
Think twice about visiting spas that offer colon cleansing—also known as colonic irrigation or colonic hydrotherapy—and definitely stay away from this procedure, Dr. Nathan says. According to a 2011 Georgetown University review of previous studies, the act of flushing water and chemicals through the colon and rectum doesn’t have any proven health benefits. And worse: in some people it can cause serious, even life-threatening side effects, from vomiting and cramping to kidney failure.
“The colon really works well all by itself,” Dr. Nathan says. “And by pushing water all the way through, you’re eliminating a lot of the good flora that your digestive tract needs.”
RELATED: 14 Best and Worst Foods for Digestion
Proceed with caution: Body wraps
Being wrapped up in seaweed, plastic, or another constricting material may not sound too appealing, but many spas tout this practice as a way to purify skin, open pores, and speed weight loss.
When done in a reputable spa, these treatments are generally safe, Dr. Nathan says. But it’s possible that wraps that are too tight or left on for too long can cause dehydration and overheating. “There is the potential to lose electrolytes and fluid, so you want to make sure you feel safe the whole time,” she adds. Check with the spa staff that you won’t be left alone while you’re wrapped, and that you can stop the treatment at any time.
If you’re looking to shed fat, a body wrap may not be your best investment anyway. Doctors say that any weight lost as a result of a wrap is pure water weight—a temporary change, at best.
RELATED: What’s the Deal with Waist Training?
Research before you relax
No matter what therapy you’re considering, the most important thing you can do is to check out a spa before booking. Even something as simple as a manicure or waxing can have health consequences if a technician isn’t well-trained or a facility follows unsafe or unsanitary practices.
“The rules vary by state and by procedure, but spas should display certificates showing that they’re qualified to perform whatever it is they’re offering,” Dr. Nathan says. And if that includes medical procedures like laser therapy, a doctor should be overseeing treatments, if not performing them him or herself.
You can also read online reviews, get recommendations from your own doctor, and ask questions about the staff’s education and experience. The extra legwork may raise a red flag—or, at the very least, will reassure you that everything is as it should be. And if that helps you enjoy your spa day without worry, that alone can be worth the effort.
RELATED: 20 Ways to Get Healthier for Free
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IAojOk