IRVING, Texas-� For their efforts toward a championship season, the No. 48�UTEP men�s golf team racked up top honors and more in Conference USA awards, including Golfer of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Frederik Dreier, who was the reigning Player of the Year, won the honor again while head coach Scott Lieberwirth earned his first C-USA Coach of the Year.
Dreier and sophomore transfer Aaron Terrazas earned First Team C-USA recognition while junior Charles Corner earned a spot on the Second Team list. The awards are determined by the most recent Golfstat rankings.
All, plus Nicklas Pihl and Andreas Sorensen, were part of the conference championship team that brought UTEP its first Conference USA title and only the second title in program history. The other was a Western Athletic Conference Championship in 1985.
Dreier became the first player in program history and only the third player in Conference USA history to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors. UAB�s Chris Devlin won it in 1999-2000 and Graeme McDowell earned it again for the Blazers in 2001-2002.
�As a goal, I wanted to win the conference Player of the Year again, it was always in the back of my head, but I never thought about it while I was on the golf course,� Dreier said. �I was just trying to play my game. If my played my best, I knew I could do it again. I was just trying to stick to my golf game and if that was enough then that would be good.�
The�ability to lead was what Lieberwirth spoke�on with Dreier.
�His [Dreier]�leadership the past couple of years has been right up there among the best student-athlete leaders that I�ve been around,� Lieberwirth said. �He�s a great student, great player and a great person too. All of those things are what we�re going to miss about Freddie. There�s not too many players that you�re that sad to see go after four years because its time, but he�s going to be a guy that I�ll defiantly miss being around. He�s meant a lot to this team, to me, and to this program. �
The senior was a staple in the Miners� line up since his sophomore year, leading the team in top-10 finishes (7) while compiling a 71.3 stroke average this season. He finished in a tie for seventh during the match play portion of the C-USA Championships and defeated his Charlotte opponent, John Gough 2UP in the championship match play.
�I was very honored to win it [Player of the Year]�last year, but to win it back-to-back is very special,� Dreier said. �I�ve been practicing hard and fighting hard this year so I�m very happy that it paid off in the end.�It�s been a very special year for the team, but to round it out with a conference championship, was very special.�I�m very happy with what I�ve accomplished as an individual but also with what the team has accomplished.�
Sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth was honored with his first C-USA Coach of the Year award and his sixth overall. He was a five-time WAC�Coach of the Year during his eight-year tenure at NM State prior to UTEP.
�It�s special,� Lieberwirth said of the recognition. �This is a great team that we have and it�s always an honor to be recognized by your peers and receive an award like this, but there are no �Coaches of the Year� awards without having good players. A lot of this goes back to them [players], they�ve done such a great job of working very hard and performing at a very high level.
�These awards are defiantly nice from an individual standpoint but we always do preach that we�re looking for team accolades. I consider this a team award as much as anything. These guys [players] did a lot of the legwork in order for this to happen.�
With Lieberwirth at the helm of the program, the Miners won three team titles in the fall season�to add to the one team title won in 2015. Before that, the program�had not won a tournament title since 2005.
�I�m so happy for Coach Lieberwirth,� Dreier said. �I know how much he wants his team to do well, in school,�on the golf�course and in our personal life, so he is helping us a lot and is very deserving of that award. He has been great for us this year, all of the guys are really close to him and he�s a great guy as well. There are so many good things to say about him but I�m really happy for him.�
Terrazas, who transferred from Oklahoma and joined the Miners in the spring, earned first team honors after a stellar spring season that saw him as UTEP�s top finisher two times. The sophomore finished at the top of the UTEP scorecard at the John Burns Intercollegiate with 1-over 217 (74-71-72) and then tied with Dreier as the top finisher at the Lone Star Invitational. He finished in the top-50 at the Conference USA Championships at 35th with 4-over�220 (73-73-74) and defeated his Southern Miss opponent, Tyler Young, 1UP in the semifinal match play.
Corner�s breakout season began this spring, where he notched five top-50 finishes, and added�four top-10 finishes.The junior topped his regular season run with a sixth-place finish during the stroke play portion of the conference championships with 3-over 219 (73-70-76), leading the team, and defeated both his match play opponents. His clutch 1UP�finish against Southern Miss�s�Matt Lorenz helped secure UTEP�s victory in the semifinals.�Corner was also�the top UTEP finisher at the prestigious Western Intercollegiate, edging into the top-10 with 2-over 212 (72-69-71) that earned him a Conference USA Player of the Week honor the week of April 12.
The Miners won the automatic bid to the NCAA Regional tournament beginning May 15, where�81 teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete in the six NCAA Men�s Regional Championship sites.
�I�m just excited for this group to get this championship,� Lieberwirth said. �We�re solely focused on doing what we can to continue our season as long as we can, meaning getting through the Regional and into the National Championship.�
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA MEN�S GOLF AWARDS
Golfer of the Year: Frederik Dreier, UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Ilari Saulo, Middle Tennessee
The UTEP softball team will host defending Conference USA Champions Florida Atlantic on Senior Weekend (May 6-7).
The Miners (11-34, 5-16 C-USA) and Owls (33-18, 13-8 C-USA) will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 3 p.m., whileSunday’s Senior Day contest will start at 1 p.m. at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.
Seniors Kaitlin Fifield (El Paso), Taylor Grohmann (El Paso), Miranda Gutierrez (Chino Hills, Calif.), Erika Harrawood (El Paso) and Kiki Pepi (San Diego, Calif.) will be honored immediately following Sunday’s contest.
As part of the Senior Day festivities, the fathers of each senior will throw out the first pitch.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Kaitlin Fifield (Chapin High School), Taylor Grohmann (Americas High School) and Erika Harrawood (Franklin High School) all played their high school softball in El Paso and have donned the Orange and Blue colors for four years.
Kiki Pepi joined the program prior to the 2015 season as she transferred from Oregon State, while Miranda Gutierrez was no stranger to the Sun City as she joined the program prior to 2016 from El Paso Community College. Fifield ranks tied no. 3 in program history in wins (24), while ranking high in multiple pitching categories in the school’s record books.
Harrawood, who came into her senior season winless and recently tallied a career-high seven strikeouts at UAB, has won a trio of contests and notched a save at rival NM State in 2017. Grohmann has won eight games in her career which included a 5-3 mark in 2016. Pepi provided a big bat for the Miners during her three seasons and is one RBI short of joining the 100-RBI club.
Gutierrez didn’t see much playing time in her two seasons, but she was one of the vocal leaders in the dugout while being a tremendous teammate along the way.
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Florida Atlantic is 3-0 against UTEP as the two programs met in Boca Raton in 2014. The Owls took the first two contests 7-0 and 2-0 on April 18. The two schools then battled it out the next day in an 11-inning affair with FAU coming out on top 4-3.
Then-sophomore Kawehiokalani Netane connected on a three-run home run in the third that gave her squad a 3-2 lead. The Owls scored a pair in the first, another run in the bottom third to tie the contest and a walk-off single in the 11th frame.
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
The Owls are 33-18 overall and 13-8 in Conference USA action after sweeping UTSA in Boca Raton. The Owls outscored the Roadrunners 10-5 in the series, winning by the scores of 1-0, 3-0, and 6-5. FAU will also play a pair at NM State on May 4 before heading to El Paso. The Owls are hitting .264 as a team and ranks second in C-USA with 103 stolen bases.
The Owls are also one of 12 national programs to hit triple digit numbers in stolen bags. Emily Lochten has been locked in as she ranks fifth in C-USA in hitting (.406), while leading the way in home runs (17), slugging (.855) and on-base percentage (.543). She ranks seventh in RBI (37) and is tied for the league lead with 48 runs. Lochten ranks no. 8 in hits (56), fourth in stolen bases (34) and second in walks (42).
Delaney Rickey has been productive as she has tallied 28 RBI and has stolen nine bases. Mia Olson (21), Tatum Buckley (18), Alex Miller (18) and Lauren Whitt (10) have each hit the double-digit RBI mark in 2017. Olson has connected on four home runs. Madisyn Palmer leads the team in stolen bases (38), while ranking second in hitting (.318) and runs scored (35).
The FAU pitching staff ranks second in the league in ERA (1.89). Opponents are hitting .253 in 352.1 innings pitched. Buckley (9-6) leads the staff in ERA (1.87) and has struck out 48 batters in 108.1 innings of work with only 18 walks. Amanda Wilson (14-9) leads the team in wins and has fashioned a 1.89 ERA in a team leading 159.2 frames. She’s added a team-high 62 Ks and has walked 45 batters.
LAST WEEK
UTEP fell in all three contests at UAB April 29-30. The Miners lost the first game 3-1 as Courtney Clayton singled in Cortney Smith. In the second game, Erika Harrawood tallied a career-best seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. After five scoreless innings, the Blazers scored three runs in the sixth to pull away late from the Miners in game two.
In the rain-shortened series finale, UAB scored five first-inning runs and claimed a 5-0 victory (5). Brianna Red singled and drew a walk in the contest. Red started all three games during the weekend, producing a .333 average, a walk and sacrifice bunt. Defensively, she recorded three putouts and a pair of assists.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT FROM LAST WEEK
Cortney Smith hit .667 (4-for-6) during the weekend at UAB. Smith registered a .750 on-base percentage with perfect slugging (1.000). Defensively, the sophomore shortstop tallied three putouts and five assists with no errors. Smith opened the series with a 1-for-2 performance, including a double in the sixth inning in which she crossed the dish.
Smith also walked in the first inning. In game two, Smith went 2-for-3 for her 11th multiple-hit game of 2017. Smith connected on her second double of the day and team-leading ninth of the season. Smith opened the contest with a single. In a shortened game on Sunday due to heavy rainfall, Smith went 1-for-1, while drawing a walk.
Smith is currently leading the Miners in hitting with a .353 average and has the second-most assists (83) on the squad.
K-ZONE
Erika Harrawood registered a career-high seven strikeouts at UAB in game two this past weekend, surpassing her previous high of six Ks at UTSA in 2015. Harrawood threw a solid outing, going 6.0 frames and allowing six hits in a 3-0 loss. Harrawood leads the staff in Ks (46) in 89.2 innings of work.
#TURNUP
UTEP recorded its 28th double play of the season at UAB, ranking first in Conference USA in that department. The Miners rank second in the nation in double plays per game (.62) behind Auburn (.84). The Miners are also tied third nationally with UT Arlington and UC Riverside in double plays (28). Campbell has turned 30 while Auburn leads the way with 43.
FIELDING DOUBLE PLAYS
UTEP has three players ranked in the top 10 in Conference USA in double plays. Taylor Sargent (13) is tied third with Stephani Texeira (FIU), Karlee Jensen (LA Tech), Katie Smith (LA Tech) and Lauren Whitt (FAU). Courtney Clayton (12) is ranked tied no. 8 with Pauline Tufi (LA Tech) and Danii Fernandez (UAB). Cortney Smith (11) is ranked no. 11.
SECOND MOST DOULBE PLAYS
UTEP’s 28 double plays turned in 2017 is already the second most turned in program history. Last season’s squad turned a program-best 30 double plays. In fact, since Tobin Echo-Hawk arrived to UTEP, the Miners have turned 97 doubles plays in 204 games (.48 per game). The 2007 squad turned 21, while 19 double plays were turned during the 2005 season. The previous four seasons (2010-13), 46 double plays were turned.
BAT GIRLS
UTEP is hitting .295 to rank tied third with Charlotte in Conference USA and no. 68 nationally, while it would rank the third best average in program history if the season ended today. UTEP hit .307 in 2016 and .303 in 2007. UTEP’s slugging (.407) ranks sixth, while its hits (357) rank sixth. Marshall leads C-USA in batting (.320), while UTSA leads with 415 hits.
UTEP RANKINGS IN C-USA ONLY GAMES
The Miners rank fourth in batting average (.298) and third in hits (167) in Conference USA games only. UTEP ranks seventh in runs scored (77), while its on-base percentage (.363) and RBI (74) ranks sixth. UTEP ranks fourth in slugging (.389). LA Tech leads the way in runs scored (112) and RBI (105). Marshall and LA Tech are each hitting .302, while UTSA leads with 197 hits.
EXTRA BASE HITS
The Miners rank fourth in Conference USA with 10 triples and tied sixth with 52 doubles. The Miners rank fourth in C-USA and no. 56 nationally with .22 triples per game.
Binghamton leads the nation with .48 triples per game, while Southeast Missouri State and Florida State leads the nation with 21 triples. Marshall, Southern Miss and LA Tech are tied for the lead league with 12 triples. LA Tech leads the way in C-USA with 77 doubles.
5 IN THE TOP 25
UTEP has five players ranked in the top 25 in Conference USA in batting. Cortney Smith (.353) ranks 12th, Kaitlin Ryder (.346) ranks 15th, Taylor Sargent (.344) ranks 16th, Kiki Pepi (.333) ranks 18th, and Courtney Clayton (.313) ranks no. 23. UTEP has the most players in the top 25, while Marshall, Charlotte, North Texas and FIU each have three. Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic and UTSA each have two. LA Tech and Southern Miss each have one.
RACKING UP HITS
The Miners have collected 357 hits, ranking seventh in Conference USA. UTEP’s 17 hits at UTSA (April 1) are tied for the most during the Tobin Echo-Hawk era, as 17 hits were recorded against Incarnate Word on Feb. 11, 2016. The 17 knocks are tied for eighth on the all-time list. Last season, the Miners set a single-season record with 451 knocks.
MORE ON THE HIT PARADE
UTEP has recorded 10-plus hit games 79 times during the Tobin Echo-Hawk era. The previous four seasons, the Miners tallied 10-plus hits in 50 contests. Since Echo-Hawk took the helm at UTEP, the Miners are hitting .297 (1,626-5,482), while the previous four years saw a .268 average (1,462-5,462). The Miners have connected on 15-plus hits in 14 different contests from 2014-17 and eight different times from 2010-13. The most hits recorded the last eight seasons were 24 at Brown on March 3, 2012 – tied most in program history.
Freshman Emmanuel Korir earned a spot in the Men�s Watch List for The Bowerman Award.
The mid-distance runner is one of 10 men earning recognition on the list. Previously, Korir took up residence in the �Also Receiving Votes� section. This is the Iten, Kenya, native�s first out door recognition.
Korir gives UTEP its 17th Watch List mention in program history � which is the seventh most by a men�s program in the Bowerman Watch List history.
Korir turned at the UTEP Invitational when he clocked a time of 44.78 in the 400m on April 22. Less than one week later, Korir challenged Donavan Brazier�s year-old collegiate record at 800 meters. Korir negative split the race at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge in Berkley, Calif., and crossed the finish line in 1:43.73.
The Miners will be hosting Conference USA Championships on May 11-14 at Kidd Field. For ticket information please call, 915-747-5234.
Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander Jimenez looks at obesity in children and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Close To 13 Million American Children & Teens Are Obese
And�new research shows they may be four times more likely than kids with a healthy weight to develop type 2 diabetes by age 25.
Between 2002 and 2005, there were 3,600 cases a year of type 2 diabetes among U.S. kids and teens, according to the Endocrine Society’s Endocrine Facts and Figures report. A large study of British children produced similar results, the researchers noted.
“As the prevalence of obesity and being overweight has rapidly risen, an increasing number of children and young adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in the United Kingdom since the early 1990s,” said study co-author Ali Abbasi, a research fellow at King’s College London.
For the study, published April 25 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, the researchers reviewed health records of 375 general practices in the United Kingdom.
BMI Is A Measure Used To Determine If Someone Is A Healthy Weight For Their Height
The team compared the diabetes status and body mass index (BMI) of about 370,000 children between the ages of 2 and 15.
The study found that 654 youngsters were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 1,319 with type 1 diabetes between 1994 and 2013. Nearly half of those with type 2 diabetes were obese. There was no link, however, between obesity and rates of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, researchers noted.
“Diabetes imposes a heavy burden on society because the condition is common and costly to treat,” Abbasi said in an Endocrine Society news release. “Estimates indicate one in 11 adults has type 2 diabetes, or about 415 million people worldwide. Given that diabetes and obesity are preventable from early life, our findings and other research will hopefully motivate the public and policymakers to invest and engage in diabetes prevention efforts.”
News stories are written and provided by HealthDay and do not reflect federal policy, the views of MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander Jimenez breaks down how pinched nerves cause back and neck pain.
You hear people say it a lot:
�I have a pinched nerve, and wow, it hurts.�
But what exactly is a pinched nerve? How does it cause back pain or neck pain? What are the symptoms of a pinched nerve�beyond pain? And most importantly, what can you do about a pinched nerve? Learn the basics of pinched nerves here.
Pinched Nerves: A Common Cause of Back & Neck Pain
What Is A Nerve?
Nerves are your body�s messengers. They transport signals to and from your brain�messages like �Move this toe� or �Ouch, that cactus needle really is sharp.� You have a central nervous system, which is made up of your brain and spinal cord. You also have a peripheral nervous system, which is the system of nerves that branches off the brain and spinal cord.
What Do Nerves Look Like?
If it helps, think of nerves like a garden hose (except they aren�t green). They have an outside membrane that transports those electrical messages. Inside nerves, there�s a fluid that nourishes and replenishes the outer membrane.
You�re Getting on My Nerves
When a nerve gets pinched, the messages and the nourishing fluid don�t flow quite as well as they should (still helpful to think of a garden hose here). A pinched nerve can start sending the �Ow, pain� message to the brain, and it can also have trouble communicating clear messages, possibly leading to weakness, numbness, or tingling.
What Can Pinch a Nerve?
As a nerve exits the spinal canal, it can be pinched by a herniated disc or a bone spur. Bone spurs, also known as osteophytes, are bony bumps that can develop on a spinal joint over time. They can push into the spinal nerve, as you can see in this illustration (red = pain generator, of course).
What Does a Pinched Nerve Feel Like?
A pinched nerve mostly feels like pain. If you have a pinched nerve in your low back, it can cause pain to travel (or radiate, in doctor-speak) down your leg. You may also know that as sciatica. A pinched nerve in the neck can create pain that shoots down your arm. Other symptoms of pinched nerves include muscle spasms, burning, tingling, and a hot/cold sensation.
Now the Good Stuff: Pinched Nerve Treatments
Pinched nerve treatments fall into two categories: what you can do at home (self-care) and what your doctor may prescribe for you.
Pinched Nerve Self-care #1: Heat and Ice
Heat and ice can work wonders on a pinched nerve. Switch between 20 minutes of heat and 20 minutes of ice�and remember that you shouldn�t put the heat and ice packs directly on your skin.
Pinched Nerve Self-care #2: Get a Massage
The muscles around a pinched nerve can become tight, so having a professional massage therapist work the painful area can bring pain relief. You may also consider a handheld massager.
Pinched Nerve Self-care #3: Take a Walk
Let�s say it�s your low back�a pinched nerve in your low back�that�s hurting you. A nice, easy stroll is a good way to stay active and address your pain. Gone are the days of extended bed rest for back pain: doctors now are more likely to recommend you exercise and stretch to help relieve your pain.
When Should You Call a Doctor?
If you try the self-care thing and yet your pinched nerve pain persists, you should consider calling the doctor. If you�ve been in pain for more than a couple of days, schedule an appointment. You should also call the doctor if you experience a very sudden onset of weakness, or if you experience profound numbness. Losing bowel and/or bladder control is also a good reason to call the doctor.
How a Doctor Treats a Pinched Nerve
The doctor will try to diagnose the cause of your pinched nerve, and then the doctor will be able to develop a treatment plan. That plan may include prescription pain medications, physical therapy, or cortisone injections. But keep this in mind: the treatment plan will be specifically tailored for you, and it�s in your best interest to follow it closely.
There is significant excitement among surgeons as well as among patients following the recent FDA, or Food and Drug Administration, release of the Charit� Artificial Disc (DePuy Spine, Inc.). The delight among patients with degenerative disc disease comes from the perception that there’s now a safe way to eliminate pain from degenerative discs while also maintaining normal movement. Several patients have developed advanced stages of disc degeneration requiring an additional fusion process or have heard about others with similar difficulties getting fusion processes before, who still continue with constant pain or had more than one effort at fusion. They’ve also discovered the successful results following disc arthroplasty in Europe which has been highly publicized by the media in America.
Lumbar Fusions and Other Discoveries
That is certainly an exciting new addition to the variety of therapies and methods for treating degenerative disc disease. An almost amazing quantity of progress has been made when looking at the way in which the evaluation and treatment for degenerative disc disease has developed over recent years. Many healthcare professionals are now able to recognize disc disorder with MRI and pain generators with discography and facet blocks. Now they could be performed through incisions that are barely observable either anteriorly through the abdomen or through the back where only a decade past, lumbar fusions were being performed through substantial posterior incisions. With the usage of instrumentation that is presently available, achievement rates for one amount fusions approach 90 to 95 percent. Regrettably, not every patient who has degenerative disc disease and contains a successful fusion has a successful clinical result. There’s still a number of patients for whom fusion will not effectively relieve pain.
Risks of Disc Replacement
Disc replacement arthroplasty has the prospect of the treatment of most of the spinal motion segment illnesses which are currently being treated both successfully and not by one of the numerous fusion techniques. At this comparatively early phase of disc replacement development, many healthcare specialists don’t know all of the issues which will be encountered following these procedures. Because the surgical strategy is via the abdomen either retroperitoneal or transperitoneal, in other words, around or through the gut, there are several foreseeable complications including vascular injury, thrombophlebitis, or vein inflammation accompanied by blood clot formation, nerve root injuries, injury to the ureter, and retrograde ejaculation in men.
It’s also known that several disc replacements have failed and have been converted to some fusion with varying clinical consequences. Removing artificial discs, especially at the L4-5 level, poses a substantial risk of vascular injury due to scarring round the prosthesis. Surely, it’s known that artificial joints produce wear debris where that is obviously not an issue with fusion and an inflammatory reaction which could escalate over time.
Early Results of Procedure
Spine specialists and other healthcare professionals in general are very positive and excited about total disc arthroplasty, and suitably so. Appropriate training via cadaveric labs and courses will help minimize the learning curve of the procedure, to avoid other possible complications. There will without a doubt be many improvements and modifications in the prosthetic layouts.
Early results are surely encouraging in the hands of the investigational surgeons but are fraught with the numerous problems common to the creation of a procedure that is new. Total disc arthroplasty is likely to be an option that is better than fusion for several degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine as layout advancements continue being made and as further encounter defines the indicators because of its use.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.
Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander Jimenez investigates the mediterranean diet, and what it can do for people taking statins for heart attacks and strokes.
Q: How Does The Mediterranean Diet Stack Up Against Statins In Preventing Heart Attacks & Strokes?
A: Research suggests that the Mediterranean diet and statins can be effective in helping to lower the risk of potentially fatal complications of heart disease. But there has been no published scientific research in which a large number of people were given either statins or a Mediterranean-style diet at random and then followed carefully to see what became of their heart health.
As Rosemary Stanton, nutritionist and visiting fellow at the School of Medicinal Sciences, University of New South Wales, explains in an article posted by The Conversation, “Such a trial is unlikely to occur, as withholding medication from people at risk of heart attack or stroke would be regarded as unethical.”
But there is evidence that both approaches are helpful and that the optimal choice, at least for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease, would be a combination of diet and statins. Research also suggests that, for people at lower risk, lifestyle measures like the Mediterranean diet could be sufficient.
Traditionally, the Mediterranean diet includes lots of fruit, nuts, vegetables, cereals and oil from olives; a moderate intake of fish and poultry; a low intake of dairy products, red meat, processed meats and sweets; and — taken with meals — wine in moderation. (Researchers tested two versions, one with lots of olive oil and the other with lots of oil from nuts.)
“I don’t view these things as either-or,” said Dr. Meir Stampfer, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “My advice is to start with the Mediterranean diet because it’s good for you in multiple ways — lowering risk of cognitive decline, reduction in some cancers, lower risk of diabetes — that go beyond what statins do.”
If Cholesterol Numbers Remain High Despite A Healthy Diet, Statins Or Other Medical Treatments Can Be Added
In 2009, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association, reported research that showed statin therapy resulting in a 44 percent reduction in heart disease-related problems including heart attacks, strokes and deaths. (The study can be downloaded at bit.ly/2lX1tuF.)
In 2013, a large and rigorous study published by The New England Journal of Medicine found that switching to a Mediterranean diet prevented about 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease in people at high risk. That study, which looked at two versions of the diet, can be found at bit.ly/2np3VY2.
Statin takers often wrongly think they don’t have to worry about diet and exercise.
“Quantitatively, you get more mileage from optimal exercise and diet than statins, so it’s not one or the other,” Stampfer said. “Everybody needs the diet and exercise, and some people, despite that, will still need statins. It’s not a failure; it’s not a character flaw — if you need it, you need it.”
The bottom line is that the Mediterranean diet helps even if one is taking statins and, along with other potential benefits, might help avoid the need for statins altogether.
Anyone who’s tried Zumba knows what a fun, heart-pumping workout it is. Thanks to the lively music and challenging dance moves, these classes help burn calories and strengthen your body from head to toe. But before Zumba classes started appearing everywhere, there was samba reggae. This music genre (which combines Brazilian samba with Jamaican reggae) originated in Bahia, Brazil.
And of course, what’s music without some dancing? It’s no surprise this upbeat music gave rise to a style of dance with a similar name. Samba reggae is upbeat, fun, freeing, and all about connecting with your body and the rhythm of the music.
Ready to rock this dance for yourself? In this video, dance teacher Quenia Ribeiro of the renowned dance school Ailey Extension demonstrates an easy-to-follow samba reggae workout to get your heart pumping and body flowing. Just hit play and follow-along.
Chiropractor, Dr. Alexander Jimenez gives insights into the most common questions about whiplash.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash, although not technically a medical term, can be quite painful and is quite serious. We call it whiplash because, within an accident, your neck actually can whip back and forth�first backward (hyperextension) and then forwards (hyperflexion). Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues of your neck and upper back that occurs when ligaments and your muscles get overstretched in the strength of an accident.
What Causes Whiplash?
The most common source of whiplash is car accidents. Nonetheless, you can even get whiplash from a sports injury or a fall. It’s also possible to get whiplash when you are hit or shaken.
What Are Some Non-Surgical Ways To Take Care Of Whiplash?
Time is just one of the greatest non surgical treatment options for whiplash. Most instances of whiplash recover by themselves to some months in several weeks. Your doctor may also indicate: wearing a cervical collar, cervical traction, chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, and pain drugs as you heal.
Will I Need Surgery?
Patients with whiplash quite, very rarely need surgery. If, nevertheless, you’ve been through wide-ranging non-operative treatments and also you have pain, surgery may be considered by you. There are several kinds of surgery useful for whiplash
Corpectomy:
Sometimes whiplash induces the spinal canal to narrow because of how a soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and bones moved throughout the first injury. By removing area of the vertebra and the intervertebral disc using a corpectomy, the surgeon is wanting to make more room in your spinal canal.
Discectomy:
The surgeon will remove section of the intervertebral disc, which may be pressing on your own spinal cord or alternative nerves and causing pain. Sometimes, the surgeon will have to do a spinal fusion at the same time as the discectomy. The fusion plans to permanently stabilize that region of your spine, although not everyone who has a discectomy will need a fusion.
Foraminotomy:
As with a corpectomy, a surgeon uses a foraminotomy to make more room for your nerves that could have gotten pinched and compressed throughout the harm. In this process, the foramina (the place where the nerve roots leave the spinal canal) is removed to boost the size of the nerve pathway.
Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander Jimenez discusses mitochondria and one’s health.
Mitochondria: you might not know what they are, but they are vital to your health. �Rhonda Patrick, PhD is a biomedical scientist who has studied the interaction between mitochondrial metabolism, aberrant metabolism, and cancer.
She�s also done research on aging at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California.
�I�ve had a variety of experiences doing research on aging, cancer, and metabolism,� she explains. �Now, currently, I�m in Oakland, California, where I�m doing my post-doctoral research, working with Dr. Bruce Ames�
The primary focus of the research is the role of nutrition in preventing age-related diseases like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and different inflammatory-related diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
I�ve been doing a lot of research currently on nutrition, specifically what roles micronutrients play in biological processes; how inadequacies and certain micronutrients can lead to insidious types of damage that can accumulate over decades, [and how they] lead to things like cancer and Alzheimer�s disease.�
Part of her work involves the identification of early biomarkers of disease. For example, DNA damage is an early biomarker for cancer. She then tries to determine which micronutrients might help repair that DNA damage.
She�s also investigated mitochondrial function and metabolism, which is one of my own most recent passions. Dr. Lee Know�s book, �Life � The Epic Story of Our Mitochondria�, is a really good primer if you want to learn more about this topic after listening to this interview.
Your mitochondria have enormous potential to influence your health, specifically cancer, and I�m starting to believe that optimizing mitochondrial metabolism may in fact be at the core of effective cancer treatment.
The Importance Of Optimizing Mitochondrial Metabolism
Mitochondria are tiny organelles, originally thought to be derived from bacteria. Red blood cells and skin cells have very little to none, while germ cells have 100,000, but most cells have one to 2,000 of them. They�re the primary source of energy for your body.
In order for your organs to function properly, they require energy, and that energy is produced by the mitochondria.
Since mitochondrial function is at the very heart of everything that occurs in your body, optimizing mitochondrial function � and preventing mitochondrial dysfunction by making sure you get all the right nutrients and precursors your mitochondria need � is extremely important for health and disease prevention.
For example, one of the universal characteristics of cancer cells is they have serious mitochondrial dysfunction with radically decreased numbers of functional mitochondria.
�The mitochondria can still function in cancer cells. But one of the things that occur [in cancer cells] is that they immediately become dependent on glucose and they�re not using their mitochondria even though they have mitochondria there. They make this metabolic switch,��Patrick says.
Dr. Otto Warburg was a physician with a Ph.D. in chemistry and was close friends with Albert Einstein. Most experts recognize Warburg as the greatest biochemist of the 20th century.
He received a Nobel Prize in 1931 for his discovery that cancer cells use glucose as a source of energy production. This is called the �Warburg Effect� and, sadly, to this day it is essentially ignored by nearly every expert.
I am beyond convinced that using a ketogenic diet, which radically improves mitochondrial health, could help most cancers, especially if used in conjunction with glucose fermentation poisons like 3-bromopyruvate.
How Mitochondria Produce Energy
To produce energy, your mitochondria require oxygen from the air you breathe and fat and glucose from the food you eat.
These two processes � breathing and eating � are coupled together in a process called oxidative phosphorylation. That�s what the mitochondria use to generate energy in the form of ATP.
Your mitochondria have a series of electron transport chains in which they pass electrons from the reduced form of the food you eat to combine it with oxygen from the air you breathe and ultimately to form water.
This process drives protons across the mitochondrial membrane, which recharges ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from ADP (adenosine diphosphate). ATP is the carrier of energy throughout your body.
However, that process also produces byproducts such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are damaging to your cells, and your mitochondrial DNA, which are then transferred to your nuclear DNA.
So there�s a trade-off. In producing energy, your body also ages from the damaging aspects from the ROS that are generated. How quickly your body ages largely depends on how well your mitochondria work, and how much damage can be minimized by diet optimization.
Mitochondria�s Role In Cancer
When cancer cells are present, the reactive oxygen species produced as a byproduct of ATP production normally send a signal that sets in motion a process of cellular suicide, also known as apoptosis.
Since you generate cancer cells every day, this is a good thing. By killing off damaged cells, your body can eliminate and replace them with healthy cells.
Cancer cells, however, are resistant to this suicide protocol, and have a built-in defense against it as articulately explained by Dr. Warburg and subsequently by Thomas Seyfried, who has done extensive research on cancer as a metabolic disease
As explained by Patrick:
�One of the mechanisms by which chemotherapeutic drugs work is they create reactive oxygen species. They create damage, and that�s enough to push that cancer cell to die.
I think the reason for that is because, a cancer cell � which is not using its mitochondria, meaning it�s not producing those reactive oxygen species any longer � all of a sudden you force it to use its mitochondria and you get a burst of reactive oxygen species because that�s what mitochondria do, and boom, death, because that cancer cell is already primed for that death. It�s ready to die.�
The Benefits Of Avoiding Late-Night Eating
I�ve been a fan of intermittent fasting for quite some time for a variety of reasons, certainly longevity and health issues, but also because it appears to provide powerful cancer prevention and treatment benefit. And the mechanism for that is related to the effect fasting has on your mitochondria.
As mentioned, a major side effect of the transfer of electrons that the mitochondria are involved in is that some leak from the electron transport chain to react with oxygen to form the free radical superoxide.
Superoxide anion, the product of a one electron reduction of oxygen, is the precursor of most reactive oxygen species and a mediator in oxidative chain reactions. These oxygen free radicals attack the lipids in your cell membranes, protein receptors, enzymes, and DNA that can prematurely kill your mitochondria.
Some free radicals are actually good and your body requires them to regulate cellular function, but problems develop when you have excessive free radical production. Sadly that is the case for the majority of the population and why most diseases, especially cancers, are acquired. There are two possible solutions to this problem:
Increase your antioxidants
Reduce mitochondrial free radical production
I believe one of the best strategies for reducing mitochondrial free radical production is to limit the amount of fuel you feed your body. This is a noncontroversial position as calorie restriction has consistently shown many therapeutic benefits. This is one of the reasons why intermittent fasting works, as it limits the window that you are eating and automatically reduces your calories.
It is particularly effective if you avoid eating several hours before going to sleep as that is your most metabolically lowered state. A review paper1 that provides much of the experimental work for the above explanation was published in 2011, titled �Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Animal Longevity: Insights from Comparative Studies.�
It may be too complex for many laypeople, but the take-home message is that since your body uses the least amount of calories when sleeping, you�ll want to avoid eating close to bedtime because adding excess fuel at this time will generate excessive free radicals that will damage your tissues, accelerate aging, and contribute to chronic disease.
Other Ways Fasting Promotes Healthy Mitochondrial Function
Patrick also notes that part of the mechanism by which fasting works is that your body has to rely on lipids and stored fats for energy, which means your cells are forced to use their mitochondria. Your mitochondria are the only mechanisms by which your body can make energy from fat. So, fasting helps activate your mitochondria.
She also believes this plays a huge part in the mechanism by which intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet may kill cancer cells, and why certain drugs that activate mitochondria can kill cancer cells. Again, it�s because it creates a burst of reactive oxygen species, the damage from which tips the scale and causes the cancer cells to die.
�Of course, there are a lot of very other interesting mechanisms that occur when you�re fasting,� she says. �Your body also clears away damaged cells through a process called autophagy, which basically means when a cell that�s damaged, it can die. But if it doesn�t die, sometimes it becomes what�s called senescent and this happens a lot with aging. What that means is that the cell is not dead but it�s not really alive either. It�s not doing its function.
It�s just kind of sitting around in your body secreting pro-inflammatory molecules, things that are damaging other nearby cells thereby accelerating the aging process because inflammation drives aging in so many different ways. Autophagy clears away those cells that are just sitting there creating damage and not doing much else, which is nice because that�s also a very important biological mechanism for staying healthy.�
Feeding Your Mitochondria
In terms of nutrition, Patrick emphasizes the importance of the following nutrients; important co-factors needed for your mitochondrial enzymes to function properly:
All B vitamins, including riboflavin, thiamine, and B6
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
As noted by Patrick:
�I prefer to get as many micronutrients as I can from whole foods for a variety of reasons. One, they are complexed with fiber help with absorption. The nutrients are also in the right ratios. You�re not getting too much. The balance is right. And there are other components that are probably yet to be identified in there.
You have to be very vigilant in making sure you�re eating a very broad spectrum [of foods] and getting the right micronutrients. I think that taking a B complex supplement is good for that reason.
It�s the reason I take one, and also for the reason that as we age, we also do not get B vitamins into ourselves as readily, largely due to our cell membranes getting stiffer. This changes the way B vitamins are transported into the cell. B vitamins are water soluble so they�re not stored in fat. There�s not really an upper toxicity associated with them. If anything, you�re going to pee a little bit more out. But I really think they�re beneficial.�
Exercise Helps Keep Your Mitochondria Young
Exercise also promotes mitochondrial health, as it forces your mitochondria to work harder. As mentioned earlier, one of the side effects of mitochondria working harder is that they�re making reactive oxygen species, which act as signaling molecules. One of the functions they signal is to make more mitochondria. So, when you exercise, your body will respond by creating more mitochondria to keep up with the heightened energy requirement.
Aging is inevitable. But your biological age can be quite different from your chronological age, and your mitochondria have a lot to do with your biological aging. Patrick cites a recent study showing how people can age biologically at very different rates. The researchers measured over a dozen different biomarkers, such as telomere length, DNA damage, cholesterol LDL, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity, at three points in people�s lives: ages 22, 32 and 38.
�What was found was that, if you look at someone who was 38, they biologically could look 10 years younger based on their biological markers, or 10 years older. Even though they were the same age, they aged biologically at very different rates.
In fact, if you took a photograph of these individuals and showed it to another bystander and ask them to guess their chronological age, what was interesting, and this is part of the publication, is that people would guess their biological age rather than their chronological age.� �
So regardless of your actual age, how old you look corresponds with your biological biomarkers, which are largely driven by the health of your mitochondria. So the point is that while aging is inevitable, you have enormous control over the way you age, which is really empowering. And one of the key factors is keeping your mitochondria in good working order.
As noted by Patrick, �youthfulness� is not so much about your chronological age, but rather how old you feel, and how well your body works:
�I want to learn how to optimize my own cognitive performance and my athletic performance. I want to also increase the youthful part of my life. I want to be 90. I want to be out there, surfing in San Diego just like I was when I was 20. I would like to not degenerate as rapidly as some people do. I like to stave off that degeneration and extend the youthful part of my life as long as I possibly can so I can enjoy life.�
More Information
To learn more about Patrick�s work, please visit her website, FoundMyFitness.com. She also has a podcast�where she interviews health professionals and scientists on a variety of topics related to health. On her website, you can find videos in which she summarizes key information in clear and easy to understand layman�s terms. You can also sign up for her newsletter, in which she publishes longer, heavily referenced articles.
Click here for the free report, �Nutrigenomics, Epigenetics, and Stress Tolerance: A New Heuristic for Lifestyle Strategy,� which covers some of the topics covered in this interview today, including: the role of DNA damage in aging cells and cancer cells, how blood cells from people show they age at different rates, how intermittent fasting increases autophagy (which clears away damaged cells) and increases genes that produce more healthy mitochondria, and more! You may also want to review her report, �How to Personalize Your Nutrition Based On Your Genes.�
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