Tag Archives: Neurology

Aging, Muscular Neurosurgeon Says Building Muscle Best Protection Against Aging

If you want good health, a long life and to feel your best  well into old age, the No. 1 most important thing you can do is  strength-training, says Dr. Brett Osborn, author of “Get Serious, A  Neurosurgeon’s Guide to Optimal Health and Fitness,”

Build Muscle, Stay Young | IMPACT Magazine

“Our ability to fight off disease resides in our muscles,”  Dr. Osborn says. “The greatest thing you can do for your body is to build  muscle.”

He cites a large, long-term study of nearly 9,000 men  ages 20 to 80. After nearly 19 years, the men still living were those with the  most muscular strength. (BMJ, formerly British Medical Journal, 2008).

Muscle is all protein – “nothing but good for you,” Dr.  Osborn says.

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Fat, however, is an endocrine organ, meaning it releases  hormones and other chemicals. When a person has excess fat, he or she also has a
disrupted flow of excess biochemicals, which can increase insulin resistance and  boost risk factors for stroke and high blood pressure, among other problems.

“Increased cytokines, an immune system chemical, for  example, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease,” Dr.  Osborn says. “You’re only as old as your arteries!” Strength-training has health benefits for everyone, he adds, no matter their size. “Some fat is visceral fat – it’s stored around the organs  and it’s even more dangerous than the fat you can see,” he says. “People who look thin may actually be carrying around a lot of visceral fat.”

So, what’s the workout Dr. Osborn recommends?

“Back to basics,” he says. “These five exercises are the  pillars of a solid training regime.”

•  The squat is a full-body exercise; it’s the basic movement around which all training should be centered. Heavy squats generate a robust hormonal response as numerous muscular structures are traumatized during the movement (even your biceps). Standing erect with a heavy load on your back and then repeatedly squatting down will stress your body inordinately – in a good way — forcing it to grow more muscle.

•  The overhead press primarily activates the shoulders, arm extenders and chest. Lower body musculature is also activated as it counters the downward force of the dumbbell supported by the trainee. From the planted feet into the hands, force is transmitted through the skeletal system, stabilized by numerous muscular structures, most importantly the lower back.

•  The deadlift centers on the hamstrings, buttocks, lumbar extensors and quadriceps, essentially the large muscles of your backside and the front of your thighs. As power is transferred from the lower body into the bar through the upper body conduit, upper back muscles are also stressed, contrasting with the squat, which is supported by the hands. Deadlifts are considered by some to be the most complete training  exercise.

•  The bench press mostly targets the chest, shoulders and triceps; it’s the most popular among weightlifters, and it’s very simple – trainees push the barbell off the lower chest until the arms are straight. This motion stresses not only the entire upper body, but also the lower body, which serves a stabilizing function. This provides a big hormonal response and plenty of bang for your buck.

•  The pull-up / chin-up stress upper body musculature into the body. A pull-up is done when hands gripping over the bar; a chin-up is where hands are gripping under the bar. Nine out of 10 people cannot do this exercise because most simply haven’t put in the effort. It’s also been called a “man’s exercise, which is nonsense,” he says. There are no gender-specific exercises. Women, too, should aspire to enjoy the health benefits entailed with this pillar.

“There are no secrets to a strong and healthier body; hard work is required for the body that will remain vital and strong at any age,” Osborn says. “Always practice proper form and safety. Otherwise, the result will be the opposite of your goal, an injury.”

The Dangers Of Kissing And Aspartame

The Diet Coke Of Relationships Things My Ex Said

What do you do when Western medicine fails to heal what ails you? 

Mitzi Mensch knows only too well what happens once doctors have exhausted their bag of tricks.  Through her writing, Mensch hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of Aspartame, challenge doctors to find answers – not simply mask symptoms – and to bring out the hopeless romantic in her readers.

Healthcare has turned into a multi-trillion dollar industry as patients around the globe are herded into doctor’s offices, only to leave with prescriptions in-hand for brightly colored pills.  But what happens when the pills don’t work and the doctor is out of ideas of how to treat your symptoms?  Mitzi Mensch knows first-hand the challenges this presents and has written about her experience in The Dangers of Kissing and Diet Coke:  What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know and Won’t Bother to Find Out, a neurological nightmare juxtaposed with a riveting love story.

This medical mystery has Mitzi playing dual roles of patient and detective all while embroiled in an intense affair with her long lost first love.

There was the “Go to Psych” doctor, the “We’re out of time doctor”, the “No, next” doctor.  Physicians pushed pills which turned her into an emotional zombie and didn’t work.  Alternative practitioners practiced protocols and provided potions which didn’t work.  As Mitzi muddled through the morass she searched for anything that claimed to cure pain, calm nerves, create somnolence.

Still her headache raged on, her tics escalated, she didn’t sleep.

Mitzi was determined to find out what was wrong and fix it. And then there is the power of first love, potent and compelling.  The Internet has made it so very easy for people separated by years and distance to rekindle what was long ago left smoldering.  But should they?  Much more than a self-help book, The Dangers of Kissing and Diet Coke sizzles, allowing the reader to voyeuristically experience an affair from the perspective of the ‘other woman.’

Yeah we know...it's an ugly picture- but so is Aspartame! Take that irony! CP

Mensch would like to help people through her writing.  “Even if one person’s health is saved by eliminating Aspartame, or one person is cured of constant headache, or one doctor will look beyond the obvious – my words will have meant something.  One thing I would like for readers to take away from this book is to be your own advocate when you get sick.  As for lovers who love down through the decades, sometimes it works.  They are the lucky ones. ”

Mitzi Mensch was born and raised in New England and attended college in Vermont.  An island girl at heart, she lives in Hawaii. Available on Amazon.com, AuthorHouse.com and local bookstores. The Dangers of Kissing and Diet Coke:  What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know and Won’t Bother to Find Out By Mitzi Mensch Publisher:  AuthorHouse  ISBN-13:  978-1491814147

Supplemental-

1.    The detriments of aspartame to our health in exchange for political favors.

2.    Finding a cure for New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH):  What to do when your doctor has given up.

3.    Medical marijuana:  Alternative treatments for pain management.

4. Things my ex said.