Youthful Skin Forever

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Gary Goldfaden, MD, a clinical dermatologist and a lifetime member of the American Academy of Dermatology. He is the founder of Academy Dermatology in Hollywood, FL, and Cosmesis Skin Care. He is also a member of the Life Extension Scientific Advisory Board.
The Life Extension Foundation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida hosted the presentation. If you don't know know about Life Extension, you should. To quote Wikipedia it is, "a non-profit research-based foundation headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, established by co-founders Saul Kent and William Faloon in 1980. Its primary purpose is to fund research and disseminate information on life extension, preventive medicine, anti-aging and optimal health, with a focus on hormonal and nutritional supplementation, deriving much of its income from the sale of vitamins and supplements."

William Faloon is the Director of the Life Extension Foundation. He is largely responsible for it's massive growth. He's also the author of the new book, "Pharmocracy".

Dr. Goldfaden's presentation was in conjunction with the publication of his own book, "Your Guide to Healthy Skin the Natural Way". His talk was an overview of what he considered important information about our largest organ, the skin.

Rather than steal the thunder of Dr. Goldfaden's book and presentation, let me hit upon some interesting and provocative ideas that he presented.

Exfoliation is a big part of the program. You essentially stimulate new skin growth by removing the outer layers. This is done by both Amber and Ruby crystals in products developed by Dr. Goldfaden.

Tea extracts are used in the exfoliation as well.

Hyaluronic acid is what gives skin moisture and gives the skin its structure. It is widely used in dermatology today and is included in the Cosmesis products, particularly useful in the more fragile areas around the eye.

A promising chemical, called Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 is similar to Botox. It is reported to reduce a facial muscle's ability to contract and form wrinkles. It has not however, been subject to double blind testing.

Some general guidelines were given on the topic of moisturizers too. Dr. Goldfaden broke it up in this way:

Oily skin- Use water based moisturizers.
Normal Skin- Use oil based moisturizers.
Dry skin - (or like that of an alligator) Use heavier oil based moisturizers.

The Doctor offered his specialized products, called Cosmesis, as a natural skin care alternative to those who prefer not to use more invasive procedures. Dr. Goldfaden does not disapprove of cosmetic procedures and regularly performs them in his practice. His motivation seems to be one of empowering the patient with knowledge and tools to take control of the health of their skin.

You can learn more about Gary Goldfaden, MD at his website - http://www.cosmesisskincare.com
The Cosmesis products are also available at Life Extension Foundation located at 5990 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL

It's Safe

Rather than deal with anecdote, lies, or just plain bad information. Let's look at evidence. I don't regularly use aspartame since I'm not into sweetening things. However I never hesitate to use it if I want to. The key is, if you don't like it, if it makes you sick or gives you a headache, don't use it. I'd advise the same thing for any food or beverage as well.

Aspartame has been claimed to produce brain tumors.  This claim is a misinterpretation of testing done on every product.  New products undergo many tests before they are allowed onto the market.  One of those tests is referred to as mortality testing.  If you are an animal rights activist, stop reading.  This test is performed on a few hundred animals, usually rats.  The test is simple, you force the animal to ingest large amounts of the product until they die.  If they don´t die, you give them larger doses.  The purpose of the test is to determine at what level death will occur, and then after autopsies, the cause of death is determined.  This test is done on every food, and always results in the death of the test subjects.  In the case of Aspartame, the leading cause of death was starvation.  Basically so much aspartame was given that the intestines could not absorb other nutrients necessary for life.  The second leading cause of death were brain tumors.  This test is the root of all the rumors regarding Aspartame and brain tumors.  The fact is that no brain tumors in humans has every been attributed to Aspartame. The amount of aspartame ingested by the rats is nearly impossible for humans to ingest even if they were eating the raw product.

The second myth regarding Aspartame involves methanol and embalming fluid.  In a laboratory, Aspartame can be converted to many of the same substances used in embalming fluid, however, the other chemicals needed to achieve this process are not found in the body.  The other part of this is the rumor that Aspartame can turn into methanol.  This is correct, but so can every fruit and vegetable and most other things we eat. Our bodies are very capable of dealing with the methanol that is produced when we eat food.
http://www.explain-health.com/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-side-effects.html

A more detailed STUDY can be found here-
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440701516184

Are Supplements Ruining Your Workout?

Could the very supplements you take to make you fitter and healthier be hurting your workout results?

Sports Med. 2011 Dec 1;41(12):1043-69. doi: 10.2165/11594400-000000000-00000.

Antioxidant Supplementation during Exercise Training: Beneficial or Detrimental?

Peternelj TT, Coombes JS.

School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in skeletal muscle during exercise have been associated with muscle damage and impaired muscle function. Supporting endogenous defence systems with additional oral doses of antioxidants has received much attention as a noninvasive strategy to prevent or reduce oxidative stress, decrease muscle damage and improve exercise performance. Over 150 articles have been published on this topic, with almost all of these being small-scale, low-quality studies. The consistent finding is that antioxidant supplementation attenuates exercise-induced oxidative stress. However, any physiological implications of this have yet to be consistently demonstrated, with most studies reporting no effects on exercise-induced muscle damage and performance. Moreover, a growing body of evidence indicates detrimental effects of antioxidant supplementation on the health and performance benefits of exercise training. Indeed, although ROS are associated with harmful biological events, they are also essential to the development and optimal function of every cell. The aim of this review is to present and discuss 23 studies that have shown that antioxidant supplementation interferes with exercise training-induced adaptations. The main findings of these studies are that, in certain situations, loading the cell with high doses of antioxidants leads to a blunting of the positive effects of exercise training and interferes with important ROS-mediated physiological processes, such as vasodilation and insulin signalling. More research is needed to produce evidence-based guidelines regarding the use of antioxidant supplementation during exercise training. We recommend that an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals through a varied and balanced diet remains the best approach to maintain the optimal antioxidant status in exercising individuals.

A Broken Hip Can Be Deadly

In this rather vivid news story the evidence is showing that hip fracture, while common and dangerous in seniors, has even more dire consequences in women around the age of 65.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/26/health/older-women-hip-fracture/

"Fractures appeared to be most dangerous in the youngest segment of study participants: For women 65 to 69, hip fracture quintupled the odds of death within one year. This was also the only age group in which the odds of death remained higher in the fracture group after the one-year mark."
 
The original study can be read here-
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archinternmed.2011.447

The least invasive methods to reduce the risk of hip fracture are a diet rich in Calcium and Vitamin D combined with weight bearing exercise. Heavy resistance exercise as recommended frequently by Reverse Magazine can do wonders to promote healthy aging and improve strength and mobility.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

by Tom Furman

Recently, we posted a picture of our stuffed turkey burgers on facebook, 

and someone asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Ingredients:

1lb. Ground Turkey Breast

1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Lime Flavored Spice

1/2 tsp. Powdered Wasabi

1/2 tsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Red Wine

2 tsp. Goat Cheese

2 tsp. High Moisture Fresh Mozzarella

1/4 Onion 

1 tbsp. Sun Dried Tomatoes

Directions:

Prepare a grilling pan, coat with olive oil and a splash of red wine. Add Mrs Dash lime flavored spice and sautee the chopped onions and sun dried tomatoes in the pan.

In a bowl, combine the turkey breast with Mrs Dash lime flavored spice and the wasabi. Mix thoroughly. Also add a dash of olive oil and red wine. Divide into two burgers and place a large chunk of goat cheese and fold over, thus 'stuffing' the burger. 

Cook the burgers in the onions and sun dried tomatoes. Avoid poking or piercing the burger, so it does not dry out. After the burger is grilled thoroughly on both sides, add a large chunk of high moisture, fresh mozzarella to the top. Let it melt for one minute. Upon serving, top the burger with the pre cooked onions and sun dried tomatoes. Serve with a large tossed salad and red wine. Enjoy!

GL Clinic Open House

On September 21st, 2011, Reverse Magazine had the opportunity to attend GL Clinic of Boca Raton's Open House. GL bill's itself as,

"...the premier cosmetic and aesthetic institute located in South Florida, specializing in spider and varicose vein treatment, liposculpting and weight loss, anti-aging skin care, and nonsurgical rejuvenation treatments."

Their service include-

• Vein and Laser Therapy
• Lipsuction & Body Sculpting
• Facial Rejuvenation
• Medical Weight Loss
• Aesthetic Medicine
• Healthy Aging

This would involve such cutting edge procedures as Vaser liposuction, injectables & fillers, hCG Diet, photofacials, teeth whitening, laser hair removal and platelet rich plasma therapy.

GL Clinic offers a wide array of products as well. Here are just some of them.

 

As you can see, being thorough and matching the clients needs to the individual product is quite important. In addition to nutritional intervention a huge portion of the recommended products are of a cosmetic nature and designed to augment the  treatments provided by the state of the art technology at this fine facility. 

The open house was well attended and the staff was available to answer any question about procedures and methodology. Check them out at 561.613.4500

As a side note, Reverse Magazine was able to meet Bart Savage of Centurion Age Management. He had quite a bit to say about aging, fitness, hormones and medicine. We hope to make him one of our upcoming features.

Consistency vs. Instant Gratification

by Robin White

Living with Tom for more than two years now has taught me a lot of things about fitness. I have learned much about anatomy, fat distribution, nutrition, what exercises are more efficient, and countless other things. But probably the most important thing to learn about fitness for me is the lesson of consistency and patience. Without it, there are no results.

I find that most people, (myself included) can stay on an exercise regimen for a month or so, and then they slowly revert back to getting caught up with work, kids, vacation, illnesses and a myriad of other life challenges.

We need to be aware that humans were made to move and to be challenged physically every day. Does this mean we need to run a marathon every day, or go to the gym every day? No, this would be abusing your body. The body also needs to rest and recover for maximum growth and maintenance.

Think back to our ancestors who hunted, climbed and chased. They exerted their bodies. Then they would have a feast, hang out for a while in a safe spot until the food ran out, then get back on the hunt. Later, they worked farms, rode horseback or loaded ships. Our ancestors used their bodies like machines. That's all they had, their bodies were their most precious resource, capable of building homes, carrying children, picking fruit, everything. They succumbed to disease and infection, but there was far less obesity. Most obese individuals were either the wealthy or royalty who had servants to do their footwork. This should provide real clues for us.

Lifting weights, pulling, pushing, forcing with the body allows the body to dissipate stress, and the tugging of the ligaments on the bone actually causes bones to become stronger and denser. Exercise also causes muscles to increase slightly in size. In women, there is a limit. Every woman I know is afraid she will look like Hulk Hogan if she lifts weights. This is never going to happen without injections of testosterone, so ladies stop worrying about this, I beg you.

The adding or maintaining of muscle fiber to the body is significant for two important reasons. It helps the immune system, and it burns calories at a slightly higher rate. Does this allow you to sit down and polish off a bag of donuts? No. You can never outwork a bad diet.

Firstly, I think we need to sit with ourselves in a moment free of distraction and contemplate where we are in our lives. How do we really feel? Are we in pain? Pain is a strong indicator that something is wrong in our system.

Chronic pain depletes the system by putting stress on the body. This produces more cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol causes the body to crave more food. See where this is going? The more you eat, the less you want to move, and before too long, you are in a downward spiral.

If you are taking drugs to feel good, you are doing nothing more than putting a band aid on the problem. You need to slowly get yourself on a better diet, and start adding small amounts of exercise and work up very slowly. I notice that people who have pain, blown discs, any injury at all think they cannot do any exercise. Doctors do not help the situation, by making them fearful due to possible litigation or other insanities. The body was meant to move. If you stop moving and exerting, you are slowly dying. There is no better way to put it.

Now to the real point of this article. What is the one thing that is going to kill off all this well meaning, well thought out train of thought? Lack of consistency.

We cannot maintain. Why? I can think of two reasons. There may be others. First, You are not accountable. Jerry Seinfeld had a wonderful technique he used to stay on top of his writing career. He put a piece of paper on the wall. Every day he wrote, he made a small red line, he kept doing it every day, he kept the line going. Maybe you can develop your own, but make it "breathable", make it flexible. This is NOT boot camp, it's for life, so make it livable.

Second, people love to revert to extremes, as a way of sabotaging the process. They say, "oh it's just too much for me, I can't do it", and they quit. As with everything in life there are two "evil" polar opposites, and then there is the rational, accomplishable middle ground. Which of the three do you think works?

Here's something to contemplate. If you start to move your body in an enjoyable way at least 3 days per week, and you cut back on some of those bad foods, and little less food intake every week (assuming you are heavier than you want to be), at the end of one year you will be a leaner, fitter, healthier person. Your body will have de-aged, and you will have started a wonderful new habit trail for a lifetime. Really think about the impact this could have on your life. Imagine yourself really accomplishing this.

If you put too much pressure on yourself in order to get "instant gratification", you WILL fail. This is a "process" and you MUST be patient. It is a process of turning bad habits into better ones, but it IS gradual. Life has many challenges for us, we cannot always be perfect. But, if we "trend" upwards in a positive motion every day, little by little, magic WILL happen. You need not kill yourself. Think to yourself "Forward, upward, little by little". Do not sabotage. Be kind with yourself, do not judge yourself. Keep your eye on the goal. You must repeat this to yourself, sometimes it's harder than others. Develop little reminders, tricks, helpful aids to your success. Be patient, it IS a process. Don't give up on yourself.