by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | Diets, Fitness, Intermittent Fasting, Natural Health, Weight Loss
Proponents of intermittent fasting contend that this popular way to lose weight is better than conventional dieting. But this type of diet isn’t necessarily best for everyone, a top expert says.
“Fasting is currently one of the newest diet fads and, while there are studies showing benefits, there are also potential downsides,” Dr. Kent Holtorf tells Newsmax Health.
A recent University of Illinois at Chicago study finds intermittent, or alternate-day fasting, was equal in results to calorie counting when it came to weight loss, along with keeping off the excess pounds.
The study, which followed 100 obese people for a year, found that those who engaged in intermittent fasting lost 6 percent of their body weight, while those who ate a calorie-restricted diet lost 5.3 percent, not a statistically significant difference, the researchers say in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Holtorf is the Los Angeles-based medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group and a founder and director of the nonprofit National Academy of Hypothyroidism. He also has appeared as a medical expert on several TV shows, including “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” and “ABC News.”
Here are excerpts from his recent interview with Newsmax Health.
Q: What exactly is intermittent fasting?
A: The idea is to intermittently significantly reduce calories in a strategic way to reduce overall caloric intake instead of eating less per day. One common method is called the 5:2 diet, which involves significant caloric restriction two non-consecutive days per week while eating normally the other five days.
Q: How did this type of diet catch on?
A: Several studies were published showing that severe periodic calorie reduction had been shown to have many benefits including changing gene expression and stimulating cell repair, reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes, improving cholesterol, lowering the risk of cholesterol levels, reducing heart disease and cancer risk and even extending lifespan.
Q: What do you think of intermittent fasting for weight loss?
A: There is a large amount of research supporting the safety and efficacy of intermittent fasting. If an individual fasts for a designated period of time, weight loss is to be expected as caloric intake has been reduced; however, research finds fasting offers long-term benefits including reduction of inflammation and improvement in mood. For example, a randomized, clinical trial of 71 people who followed intermittent fasting for three months lost an average of 5.7 pounds while the weight of the control group, which didn’t alter their eating habits, lost no weight. Those in the fasting group saw a reduction in blood pressure, body fat, and waist size.
Q: What effect does intermittent fasting have on mood?
A: Going without food for 10-16 hours causes the body to release fatty acids known as ketones. According to Mark Mattson, a senior investigator for the National Institute of Aging, who has done extensive investigation on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, ketones have been shown to protect memory and learning function as well as slow disease processes in the brain. Ketones are also shown to boost the body’s formation of particular stress reducing neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and GABA, which helps you stay calm under stress and have fewer cravings.
Q: What are the drawbacks of using this type of diet for weight loss?
A: While it can be a way to jumpstart weight loss and have health benefits, studies also show that it can permanently reduce metabolism (calories burned per day). The metabolism may not go back to normal when normal eating is resumed unless steps are taken to prevent or reverse the drop in metabolism. Thus, fasting or so-called “yo-yo dieting” can contribute to long-term weight gain, wiping out the short-term health benefits of fasting.
Q: Are there any groups for which this may be a particular problem?
A: This is shown to be more of an issue for women because women’s bodies appear to perceive fasting as more of a threat of starvation and respond by lowering metabolism to survive the perceived famine. This is especially true if a woman has any signs of low thyroid, including low body temperature, depression, cold intolerance, PMS, cold extremities or suffers with fatigue.
Q: So is there any one best diet out there for everyone?
A: Studies show that most diets are successful short-term but most suffer from equal long-term failure. But thyroid evaluation and optimization, if low, can increase the likelihood of successful weight loss whether via fasting or other diet plan.
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | Diets, Fitness
Eating red meat increases your risk of death from nine diseases, according to a new study.
Researchers tracked the diet and health of more than 536,000 people, ages 50-71, for an average of 16 years, The New York Times reported.
Compared with the one-fifth who ate the least red meat, the one-fifth who ate the most were 26 percent more likely to die from cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, infections, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease and liver disease.
People who ate the most white meat were 25 percent less likely to die from various causes than those who ate the least white meat, according to the study in the journal BMJ.
“This is an observational study and we can’t determine whether red meat is responsible for these associations. But we have a 16-year follow-up, and we had the numbers to look at different causes, and we can see that it’s happening” said lead author Arash Etemadi, an epidemiologist at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, The Times reported.
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | Diets, Fitness
A coffee, a caffeinated and an energy soda proved a deadly combination for a South Carolina teenager who died within two hours of consuming them, triggering warnings about the risks of caffeine overdose.
Davis Allen Cripe died on April 26 from a “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia,” the Richland County coroner’s office in the southern US state wrote in a statement.
Two hours before he collapsed, Cripe drank a cafe latte, large Diet Mountain Dew and an energy drink.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts noted Tueday that such occurrences are “highly unusual.”
“It was mainly due to the time period that he ingested a rapid amount of caffeine that affected his heart,” Watts told The Post and Courier, adding that Cripe had collapsed just 15 minutes after taking the energy drink.
The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that adults consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day, which is equivalent to four or five cups of coffee.
“While adults should be mindful of their caffeine consumption, it’s important for parents to know the risks of children and adolescents consuming caffeine,” Jill Michels of the Palmetto Poison Center said in a statement.
“Take the time to talk with your children about the dangers of caffeinated drinks.”
At a news conference on Monday, the boy’s father said his son was very careful about drugs and alcohol.
However, “it wasn’t a car crash that took his life. Instead, it was an energy drink,” Sean Cripe said.
While energy drinks account for just a small segment of the non-alcoholic beverages industry, they are very popular with young people.
Health experts have expressed concern about the drinks’ high caffeine content, which can cause arrhythmia and raise blood pressure in young people.
Energy drinks can contain up to 240 mg of caffeine, according to a 2012 Consumer Reports study.
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by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
After three days of the 2017 Outdoor Conference USA Championships, the UTEP women’s team have recorded 44 points for second place, while the men have tallied 36 points for third place.
The women’s team is looking to capture their first outdoor title.
The UTEP women picked up 16 total points in two events on the afternoon: Samantha Hall defended her title in the discus throw with a toss of 54.40m (178-06) for 10 points and Fayon Gonzales launched the disc out to 46.44m (152-04) for seventh-place, adding two points. Tobi Amusan leaped out to a mark of 5.81m (19-00.75) in the long jump to finish in fifth place, garnering four team points.
2017 CUSA Track and field meet, Kidd Field El Paso Texas
On the men’s side, Brandon Moss garnered silver in the long jump with a mark of 7.44m (24-05) earning eight points. Scoring in the 3,000m steeplechase, Daniel Cheruiyot took home silver with a time of 9:02.70, followed by Cosmas Boit crossing the line in 9:15.69 for seventh place. The two combined for 10 team points.
Qualifying to Sunday’s finals were a slew of Miners. Lilian Koech and Linda Cheruiyot both crossed the finish line simultaneously with the top qualifying time of 4:35.28 in the 1,500m.
Amusan (13.07) and Rebecca Oshinbanjo (13.75) placed first and sixth in the 100m hurdles.
Florence Uwakwe (54.07) and Ada Benjamin (54.17) both qualified for the 400m final. Lilian Koech clocked 2:12.70 in the 800m for the third qualifying spot.
In the 400m hurdles, Yanique Bennett crossed the finish line with the fastest-time of 59.21.
UTEP’s Samantha Hall takes the gold medal in the Women’s Discus Throw at 2017 CUSA Track and field meet, Kidd Field El Paso Texas
Jonah Koech (3.55.67), Michael Saruni (3:55.71) and Cosmas Boit (3:57.93) each qualified for the 1,500m final. Saruni also qualified for the 800m final with a time of 1:53.87, along with teammate Jonah Koech (1:51.65).
Emmanuel Korir cruised to the 400m final with the fastest qualifying time of 46.67. James Bias qualified for both the 200m (21.26) and the 400m (47.63) final.
Sunday’s action begins at 1:00 p.m. with the men’s discus final.
For live updates and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
2017 CUSA Track and field meet, Kidd Field El Paso Texas
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
Fans who purchase or renew UTEP football season tickets by Friday, June 2 will have access to special privileges, including the ability to purchase tickets to the Miners’ season opener at Oklahoma while supplies last.
UTEP will kick off the 2017 campaign versus the perennial national power Sooners on Sept. 2 in Norman.
By meeting the June 2 deadline, fans will also receive two free tickets to UTEP’s home opener against Rice on Sept. 9. Fans who pay in full by June 2 will also enter a drawing to travel with the Miners to a road game this fall. Accounts renewed by the deadline will receive the same donor parking from last season.
UTEP season tickets start at just $55 for five home games – Rice, Arizona (Sept. 15), WKU (Oct. 7), UTSA (Oct. 28) and LA Tech (Nov. 18).
To renew or purchase season tickets, please visit www.utepathletics.com/tickets Payment plans are also available.
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
SAMMAMISH, Wa.- The UTEP men’s golf team finished day one of the 2017 NCAA Washington Regional in 11th place, shooting 13-over 297 at the Aldarra Golf Club (par-71/6,885 yards) in Sammamish, Wash. Leading the 14-team field is Florida State with 6-under 278, who entered the tournament as the fourth seed.
The country’s top-ranked team in Southern California is two strokes behind the leader with 4-under 280 and the Trojans’ Sean Crocker leads the field individually with 7-under 64. Round two will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. MT.
The top five teams from each of the six regional sites will advance to the national championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. on May 26-31.
“We played the par-5s terrible today,” sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth said of his team’s performance. “It’s a difficult course, we had at least six bogeys, if not more on par-5s and out here you can’t do that. Charlie [Corner] had a nice round and Aaron [Terrazas] hung in there pretty tough, but after that we really couldn’t get anything going. We’ve kind of prided ourselves on our consistency top to bottom, but we didn’t get that today. We had two guys that played well and the rest didn’t show.”
Charles Corner led the Miner squad with a round of 70 to sit in a tie for 10th place. The junior birdied on holes no. 5, no. 11, and no. 17, while only bogeying twice to complete the opening round as the only Miner to shoot under par. Corner is also tied for third in par-4 scoring (3.78, -2). Aaron Terrazas is in a tie for 27th with 2-over 73, while matching Corner’s birdies with three of his own no. 7, no. 9, no. 13. Terrazas is tied for third in par-3 scoring (2.80, -1) and bogeyed five times.
In an unusual spot is senior Frederik Dreier, who sits just outside of the top-50 in a tie for 52nd with 5-over 76. Dreier, who is ranked no. 93 in Golfstat rankings, collected a birdie on hole no. 7 and bogeyed six times. Nicklas Pihl shot 7-over 78 for a share of 62nd, while Andreas Sorensen is one stroke behind with 8-over 79 to tie for 67th. Pihl collected two birdies on holes no. 12 and no. 13, while also tying for third in par-3 scoring (2.80, -1).
“We have to do a better job of executing,” Lieberwirth said. “We’ve got a better feel for the golf course now, that will help. We know the types of shots we have to hit, we just have to do a better job. We were kind of all over the place, missing in spots that we shouldn’t have missed and making life much harder than it should have been.”
The tournament will run through Wednesday, live stats will be available via golfstat.com
by Dr Alex Jimenez DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CFMP, IFMCP | UTEP (Local) RSS
Nicole Dunson (UTSA), Michael Madrid (San Jacinto College) and Lori Morris (Southwestern College) will venture to the Sun City to join the UTEP women’s basketball program as full-time assistant coaches, head coach Kevin Baker announced Tuesday.
The group brings wide-ranging experience to a UTEP program that has produced the third-highest winning percentage in the state of Texas since 2006-07.
“I am beyond excited about the coaching staff that we were able to put in place,” Baker said. “I consider this to be an all-star cast of coaches. All three of our new staff members worked hard to build their careers the old fashioned way. They earned it. My goal was to surround myself with the most talented, hardest working, and well connected coaches available. I feel that we now have a coaching staff in place that will rival any other program in the nation.”
A bio on each of the individuals, along with a quote by Baker, follows below.
Nicole Dunson
UTSA, 2005/2007
Dunson joins UTEP after spending the past four years as an assistant coach with Conference USA rival UTSA. She oversaw the guard development while also aiding in the day-to-day responsibilities with the squad. She helped the Roadrunners make a smooth transition into C-USA; they piled up 54 total wins in that time frame while also garnering a fourth-place finish (2014-15) and a seventh-place showing (2016-17).
Prior to returning to her alma mater, Dunson enjoyed a successful two-year run as the head girls’ varsity basketball coach at Richard King High School in Corpus Christi. She guided her charges to the 2011-12 District 28-5A Championship in addition to a berth in the state playoffs in each of the seasons. The Corpus Christi native also was selected to coach in the 2013 CBCA All-Star Game.
Her initial head coaching experience came at the helm of San Antonio’s Hartlandale High School girls’ basketball program. She also was the head junior varsity track & field coach while also serving as a health and physical education teacher. Dunson embarked on her coaching career as head coach for the girls U14 Shooting Stars Basketball AAU program in 2006.
As a student-athlete Dunson played two years with UCF before transferring to UTSA. She sat out the 2002-03 season due to NCAA transfer rules and the following campaign while recovering from a right knee injury. Dunson proved to be worth the wait, accounting for 8.8 points/game while draining 42 percent from 3-point range in her first year. Upon the conclusion of her senior season she was chosen as the 2005-06 Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. She drilled 44.1 percent from distance to place 18th nationally. Moreover she garnered the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar award in 2006 and was named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honoree. To this day Dunson holds the UTSA single-season and career mark in 3-point field goal percentage.
Dunson earned her degree in biology from UTSA in 2005 before going to secure a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in sports psychology two years later.
“Everything about Nicole Dunson screams winner and success. Nicole is the type of coach who has worked for everything she has ever gotten in the game of basketball. She was a very hard working and successful player that battled injuries and overcame them. She cut her teeth at the high school level and earned a place on staff at UTSA. From there she became a fantastic recruiter and on-the-floor coach. The amount of impact she will have in our program will be immeasurable. Nicole is one of the most talented up-and-coming coaches in the country.” – UTEP head coach Kevin Baker
Michael Madrid
Eastern New Mexico, 1998
Madrid has an impressive resume with ample experience at both the high school (10 years) and college levels (13 years). Most recently he put together a record-setting run in two years with San Jacinto College while forging a combined record of 46-20. In 2016-17 the squad rolled to a mark of 24-9 while making the NJCAA Tournament for the first time in the college’s history. San Jacinto went 22-11 in 2015-16 and earned the Region XIV Tournament Runner-up honors, which at the time was the farthest any women’s basketball team at the college had ever advanced. The squad knocked off nationally-ranked Trinity Valley to secure the spot in the title tilt before ultimately falling to Blinn College.
Prior to this tenure at San Jacinto, he won 24 games in his first opportunity to serve as a head coach over two season with Paris Junior College. Immediately beforehand he was an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University for a trio of seasons, helping the Pioneers win their first Lone Star Conference tournament championship in any sport and advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association South Central Region tournament.
His coaching career started at New Mexico’s Portales High School, which culminated with the squad taking home the 2001 Class 3A championship. After one year with Lubbock Estacado High School as a boys’ football, track, and basketball coach, he coached boys’ basketball for two years at Lubbock High School. Madrid then served five years-one as a graduate assistant and four as an assistant coach- at Lubbock Christian University. The team advanced to the NAIA National Championships Tournament all five years, including being the national runner-up in 2005-06. It also won the 2006-07 Sooner Athletic Conference title.
Madrid earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from Eastern New Mexico University in 1998 before receiving his master’s degree in sports administration in 2001. He also holds a master’s degree in education administration from Lubbock Christian University. Madrid and his wife, Sammie, have a daughter (Ryan).
“Michael is the total package. He is a talented recruiter and a very accomplished head coach. He started out in the high school ranks and worked his way up the ladder. Michael has consistently signed outstanding players throughout his career and has a solid grasp on what wins games at the collegiate level. Michael will help our program on the floor tremendously, on the road recruiting quality players, and in the community at large.” – UTEP head coach Kevin Baker
Lori Morris
University of San Diego, 1984/Azusa Pacific, 1990
Morris has spent the past two seasons as head coach for Southwestern College, but jumped at the opportunity to get back into the DI ranks. She was an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for two years at Air Force (2013-15), worked with the CSU Fullerton program for a year (2012-13) and spent four season at Louisiana (2008-12), three of which as the associate head coach.
Before her time with ULL Morris was the head coach at Southwestern Junior College for one year (2007-08). In addition to the standard duties commensurate with the position, she was responsible for conditioning, weights, study hall and grade checks. She also taught Basketball Theory, Basketball Activity, Film and Intercollegiate Basketball at SWJC. Morris was also extremely involved with the community, and even opened a basketball player development class for high school players along running mini clinics.
Prior to entering the collegiate ranks Morris had an outstanding 20-year run as the head coach of the Montgomery High School girls’ basketball team from 1987-07. She assumed the position after serving as an assistant coach in 1986-87. She developed 18 players who went on to compete at either the junior-college or university level. Morris guided MHS to Metro League Championships in 1990, 1995, 1996 and 1997, Mesa League Championships in 2002 and 2005 and the Southbay Championship in 2007. MHS also secured a pair of runner-up accolades in the California Interscholastic Federation Division. She was voted as a coach of the year on multiple occasions.
Morris was a standout player at San Diego (1980-84), concluding her career ranked second all-time in assists (480). Morris continues to rank second in helpers, while also garnering top-10 placement in the career records for assists per game (4.2/3rd), field goal attempts (1,070/5th), steals (177/5th), steals per game (1.55/9th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46/9th). She paced the Toreros in assists all four years, including 162 in 1981-81 (third in USD single season) and 129 in 1983-84 (fifth in USD single season).
She received her bachelor’s degree in language arts from San Diego in 1984 and earned her master’s degree in education with an emphasis in administration from Azusa Pacific in 1990.
“Lori Morris is the kind of coach that any staff in America would be fortunate to bring on board. Lori brings over 30 years of experience to the table as a high school coach, junior college coach, Division I recruiting coordinator, and a Division III head coach. Lori has coached all over the country and has built up a network of coaches and a trusted coaching tree that one must have to be successful at this level. Lori has great energy and work ethic which benefit our program and our players.”- UTEP head coach Kevin Baker
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