Pleasures and Pains Sports provide us the most delirious euphorias, the pure delight of seeing the human body to do what it’s built to do. Sports also kill and maim us. Two thousand young Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest every year, with perhaps triple the risk in athletes. When hockey enforcer Derek Boogard died at age 28, […]
What kind of fat is that? (2/3/12)
Versatile Fat Fat. The word sounds simple. Once upon a time, fat biologically was simple. Fat cells supplied living storage energy. Their round, white globular forms sat by silently ready to power cellular function – especially when hard to store glucose was not available. Fats were also employed for innumerable non-power uses – including the […]
Why does exercise work? (2/01/12)
Making Regeneration More Efficient People are exhorted every day – exercise, exercise, exercise. Many patients I see are annoyed. Why should I bother? they ask. How much difference can it make? Next they’re told it will increase their lifespan; lower their blood pressure; decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke; lower the risk of […]
Changing the color of your fat (1/20/12)
Making Fat Beautiful Want to control weight? Avoid diabetes? Appear more youthful? You might want to change your white fat to brown. Fortunately the color shift – and function of fat – is under your control. Greek Gods, Bears, and Your Waistline New research from Harvard, led by cell biologist Bruce Spiegelman and published in […]
To win the game you stay in the game – football and flexibility (12/27/11)
Preventing Injury Football can be a brutal, even lethal sport. But you can’t win games if players get injured. Which happens all the time. The results are obvious in high school and college teams – “take out” a key opposing player through injuries and you have a much easier time winning. Yet NFL players know […]