Medical debt can blindside you when you least expect it. It could be as simple as a small injury that needs an x-ray and stitches, or perhaps an emergency appendectomy; it could also be as huge as a quadruple by-pass, or a hip replacement. Either way, you could be ahead financially one day, and $100k in debt the next.
The percentage of Americans that are struggling with medical debt has grown 3.5% per year since 2005. This is pathetic to me. The cost of medical procedures is extraordinary, and many health insurance plans don’t help much… if you can even get on an insurance plan at all.
I came upon this link in CNN yesterday morning that might help you, if you think you are in danger of falling deeply into medical debt. You should act on these tips as soon as you realize you owe. Five mistakes that will land you in medical debt.
All I managed was one very painful kickboxing workout this week. During that workout I basically couldn’t punch, kick, run, participate in calisthenics, or breathe. I knew something was wrong since two Fridays ago, but I couldn’t go to the hospital or to the doctor until my new insurance policy kicked in on August 4th.
So on the 4th I went to see my primary care physician for a routine physical and to diagnose my breathing issues. Given my history of clotting, he set me up with a CT Scan and some blood tests. After fighting with my health insurance for an hour or more, I finally was cleared to take the tests. Finally on the 5th (today) I made it in for my tests.
A study conducted by the University Of Kansas School Of Medicine reveals that Alzheimer’s patients who exercise have larger brains than those who are out of shape.
About the Study
Of the 121 people in the study, all were over 60 years of age, and 57% of them already had Alzheimer’s. The actual study itself involved fitness tests and brain scans. Each patient was evaluated using a treadmill to determine a level of physical fitness. Then each patient’s brain was scanned to determine a level of brain shrinkage.
According to a statement recently made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, drugs designed to help control Type 2 diabetes, like the well-known prescription medication Avandia, should be subjected to more rigorous safety reviews to ensure they don’t raise the risk of heart problems. Take the following information with a grain of salt though, as I am NOT a medical doctor. Any stupid decisions you make, you make at your own risk.
Many people, when they start lifting weights, believe that training to failure on every set of every exercise is the key to growth. This is one of the biggest weightlifting myths, and one that is nearly impossible to squash unless you educate yourself on exercise physiology.
What Exactly is Failure?
Failure is weightlifting is defined as the inability to generate the force required to complete the full range of motion for a single repetition. Many people, experts and trainees, fall on both sides of this debate. Some coaches insist on leaving a couple reps in the bag, stopping well short of failure to avoid stressing the central nervous system (CNS), while others recommend taking each set to that last rep. In order to get to the bottom of it, we really have to examine the science behind the theory.
This question of the week is a question to me, rather than a question to you. Let me know your thoughts on the subject after reading the article.
Let me tell you about a recent conversation with one of my friends over IM. This guy used to lift with me back in college, but he’s working on his own business right now and hasn’t touched a weight in almost a year. So the guy goes out and gets a gym membership and starts training again last Monday.
This is how the conversation went down…
my weightlifting friend: yo wtf friend: my muscles hurt friend: so bad me: bwahaha friend: chest and tris are killing me friend: since Monday friend: I can barely move me: nasty me: don’t push it so hard the first week back foo friend: I can’t help it friend: and I didn’t push that hard friend: I just did as much as I could friend: which is not as much as it used to be me: yeah me: you prolly did negative reps me: and pushed out every last rep out of every set me: and tried to use the weights you used to use me: haha friend: haha friend: whatever I did friend: it sucks ass friend: what can I do to recover faster?
With the amount of starchy, sugary foods on the market today, we can never be too careful about our insulin sensitivity. Consuming too many high glycemic foods can decrease insulin sensitivity so much that we can develop adult-onset type 2 diabetes over time. Diabetes is bad in so many ways, causing (for example) heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and threatening the health of extremities.
Now there is hope for prediabetics (those with a high level of insulin insentivity). A new study presented on June 9 during the 68th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in San Francisco, has shown that people in prediabetic state were 81% less likely to convert their insulin insensitivity to type 2 diabetes when treated with a drug called pioglitazone, brand name Actos®.
If you are one of the more than 21 million people in the United States and an estimated 246 million adults worldwide who have diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, here is some excellent news for you. There is a new drug called exenatide, which when given weekly injections over the course of a year, has lowered glucose levels in diabetics and has assisted with weight loss, as shown by a recent study.
Exenatide, aka “exenatide once weekly”, appears to also improve fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) when administered twice a day using a product called Byetta. Byetta is the version of exenatide that is currently available on the market.
Dr. John B. Buse, director of the Diabetes Care Center and chief of the division of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill said in a prepared statement…
After a 25 year increase, it seems that the percentage of obese or overweight children has plateaued. This news offers us some hope that perhaps the future of America will not be riddled with diabetes and heart disease.
One expert, Dr. David Ludwig, has commented that even though he is encouraged by these findings, “it is still too soon to know if this really means we’re beginning to make meaningful inroads into this epidemic. It may simply be a statistical fluke.” Another expert maintains that there is at least a small level of optimism about these results.
Yesterday I went to my thai kickboxing class where my lungs were served to me on a silver platter. After taking about a month off from kickboxing, I have lost most of my endurance. Not all that surprisingly, my lungs still don’t really seem to be working properly, as I am able to take only half breaths when my heart rate starts to rise. This is one of the reasons (aside from family and job issues) I started to slack at kickboxing for the last month. I attribute this to one of three things:
My lungs really are damaged from the incorrectly diagnosed blood clots (pulmonary embolisms) I had about 4 years ago. Thanks so much RIT Student Health center for diagnosing me with pneumonia for weeks on end resulting in me almost dying in my apartment, even after you had me get X-rays and an MRI. I wish I could sue them.
I have developed some sort of asthma perhaps?
I am in such horrific physical condition that my lung capacity has regressed to less than 2/3 of what it used to be.
The 300 Workout
My original blog about the 300 workout I will be starting is here: The 300 Workout for Total Body Conditioning. I have not really started this yet, but I am preparing myself.
This is the tree on which I have been practicing my pull-ups. A couple weeks ago I was only able to get about 5 pull ups in a row, something that I used to be able to do with a 45 lb plate hanging from my waist. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Anyway, I can see in this picture my lack of width and girth, and the decrease in the circumference of my arms. It will be good to get swole again.
This is the bench on which I will be doing step ups and any other exercises that might require a bench. Just to get back into the swing of pressing, I will probably bust out some high rep 45 lb Powerblock presses using this bench like I would an Olympic bench.
This is the park in which I will be doing any sort of running or carrying exercises. Any exercise that doesn’t involve a stationary tool of some sort will be done in the park.
PR of the Day
As of today, I am back up to 9 consecutive pull ups without cheating. My goal is to hit 20, something I’ve never done before, but if I practice this all summer and keep my weight down through conditioning drills, I should be able to attain this before next winter.
Since I am operating a healthy lifestyle blog here, I feel that it is important to address some life or death medical considerations at times. Therefore, today we talk about cholesterol. While circulating blood cholesterol is important to know about, you can also gauge increased cholesterol levels my examining the molecules that transport the cholesterol to the cells. An increase in the number of dense fat-transporting molecules surely means an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Lipoproteins
In order for cholesterol to travel through blood, it must attach itself to small fat-carrying proteins called lipoproteins. A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly that contains both proteins and lipids. Many molecules in the blood, including enzymes, transporters, and structural proteins, are lipoproteins. The higher the proportion of protein to lipid in the lipoprotein, the greater is its density. The greater the density of the lipoprotein, the more cholesterol it is transporting around to your organs.
The least dense lipoproteins are the chylomicrons, which carry very little cholesterol.
Next, come the very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), which roughly carry 15% of the circulating cholesterol.
Following the VLDL are the LDL which are the most notorious since they carry roughly 65% of all circulating cholesterol. High LDL levels are almost always a sure sign of atherosclerosis, a life-threatening heart condition. This means an unusually dangerous amount of cholesterol is present in your blood, and therefore arteries, at any given time. Chance are you will end up with major blockages at precarious locations.
Lastly comes the “good” cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), which are the smallest and densest of the lipid-carriers. These actually carry cholesterol from the cells to the liver so that they can be processed as bile acids, excreted in the bile as cholesterol, or returned to the plasma as a component of VLDL. In other words, they dispose of the cholesterol.
How Do I Lower My Cholesterol?
There are several notable factors that can dramatically influence blood cholesterol levels.
First of all, exercise more through resistance training methods. This will help control weight and elevate HDL levels.
Second, you should try to lose weight since overweight individuals tend to exhibit higher cholesterol readings than thinner people due to the excess lipids floating around in their bodies.
Third, eliminate high cholesterol foods, high trans fats foods, and foods high in saturated fat from your diet.
Finally, add in some additional cardiovascular exercise to really get your cardiovascular system in shape.
Also, don’t forget to drink 8 glasses of water a day to flush out the system.
According to reports from the American scientists at the diabetes association, approximately 7% of US population, about 20 million people, suffer from diabetes. By 2050 diagnosis of type 2 diabetes will be confirmed for about 48 million people in the United States. We always knew diabetes is a very serious disease as it causes loss of hearing, loss of sight, nervous system disorders, amputation of extremities, and now we find out that diabetes is responsible for hormonal imbalances including low testosterone.
A recent study of 69 men with type 1 diabetes and 580 men with type 2 diabetes has confirmed that low testosterone levels are directly related to the existence diabetes. Blood samples were taken from the groups initially and after a 6 month period. Both groups of men exhibited a lower level of total testosterone than the average male without diabetes.
Insulin Resistance is the Culprit
Since men with low testosterone typically show signs of depression, loss of libido, impaired physical and mental performance, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, this study confirms that men with diabetes to have a legitimate overall heath concern as they grow older.
Typically men over 30 begin to show signs of decreased testosterone levels and often benefit greatly from testosterone replacement therapy. Now these men will have a better understanding of what is happening to them and why, and they can procure proper medical treatment in order to continue to lead happy and healthy lives well into their 70s and 80s.
Men who think they have a legitimate problem with strength, mood, or performance now have a reason to seek testosterone replacement therapy, especially if they have diabetes or think they might be insulin resistant.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
While the use of testosterone replacement therapy has not show significant promise when trying to reduce insulin resistance, this type of therapy has been directly responsible for bringing hope to the lives of men with low testosterone. Testosterone replacement therapy reverses the effects of hypogonadism, which is an impairment of the reproductive system that limits the testes effectiveness at producing natural healthy levels of testosterone.
Supplementing with additional testosterone helps to decrease body fat, increase muscle mass, improve mood, improve physical endurance and strength, and also combat the threat of cardiovascular disease. The only downside is that there are no long-term clinical trials to report on the long term side effects of testosterone replacement therapy. But we do know that the short term effects definitely improve the quality of life for those with low testosterone.
Testosterone Supplementation
By now everyone knows that testosterone and other steroids are illegal. Even prohormones such as androstenedione and nor-androstenedione have been banned. So what do we have left?
Tribulus terrestris – Tribulus serves as a Luteinizing-hormone secretagogue (LHS). In other words, it causes the release of Luteinizing hormone, which in turn signals the testes to produce more Testosterone. And of all the natural T-boosting compounds on the market, Tribulus is the most powerful. Each of the active compounds in a Tribulus extract, including protodioscin must be available in the proper ratios to make it a super-effective all natural testosterone booster.
Vitex agnus castus – Vitex also works as a Luteinizing-hormone secretagogue (LHS), but it also acts as an anti-progesterone and anti-prolactin agent. This means Vitex works to lower progesterone and prolactin concentrations in the body, which means less estrogen, easier release of body fat, and decreased depression. Scary enough, prolactin is even known to cause lactation in men. By lowering progesterone and prolactin you will increase Testosterone through various feedback mechanisms.
Eurycoma longifolia – Eurycoma works by selectively controlling conversions of naturally occurring androgens, including DHEA, into Testosterone. It even works when the testes are non-responsive to Luteinizing hormone. As long as the substrate hormones are present Eurycoma works; thankfully those substrates are present in everyone.
At $19.95 a bottle, Biotest Tribex Gold (50 Tablets) is the only product that I have come across, which measures up to expectations and is affordable as a permanent nutritional supplement. Most other products fortify their supplements with protodioscin, which makes those products inferior due to their unnatural ratios of active compounds. Tribex Gold is a product you can stay on for a while and will noticeably increase your natural testosterone levels, making you stronger, leaner, quicker, and happier.
At $49.99 a bottle, Biotest Alpha Male (74 Tablets) is worth the investment, as it is the most complete natural testosterone booster on the market today. Alpha Male contains Tribulus, Vitex, and Eurycoma in super concentrated, highly effective ratios. A cycle of Alpha Male should run 4 days on, 1 day off, 3 days on, 1 day off, repeat, for at least 4 weeks. I recommend using it for a full 2 months before taking a break. Alpha Male also contains an additional muscle building supplement called Carbolin 19.
Carbolin 19 – Biotest Carbolin 19 (60 Capsules) is a carbonate ester of a naturally occurring diterpene called colforsin (aka, forskolin). Foreskolin actually exhibits an anabolic effect in the body, which means this supplement is especially effective at building and maintaining muscle mass while you are also attempting to lose body fat. As it is completely non-toxic, Carbolin 19 can be used year round, and is available as a stand alone supplement as well as being included in Alpha Male.
One Possible Cycle
Tribex Gold alone is a good supplement to stay on permanently, as is Carbolin 19. Alpha Male is a great supplement to boost your training for a couple months here or there. For those of you suffering with diabetes or insulin resistance, it looks like perhaps if you tried boosting your testosterone through natural means like this, you might feel a whole lot better.
If you wanted to go all out, I might recommend getting some Tribex Gold and Carbolin 19 in addition to your Alpha Male, and take the former two supplements when you are off Alpha Male, whether for 1 day or 1 month. No matter what, don’t forget to bust your ass training.
