BC the Mag Health, Beauty & Fitness Fall 2016

FA L L

2016

Carbo-Load WHY CARBS MIGHT BE YOUR MISSING KEY T O F AT L O S S

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

TAKE A STAND AND UNITE AGAINST BULLYING

Looking In All the Right Places 5 WAYS TO FIND INSPIRATION Health, Beauty & Fitness

Fall 2016

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JOHN THEURER CANCER CENTER

Dr. Rizk and His Team: Unparalleled Lung Cancer Expertise

ACTIVE ORTHOPEDICS & SPORTS MEDICINE SPECIALIZED CARE FROM SPECIALIZED PHYSICIANS GETTING NORTHERN NEW JERSEY BACK IN THE GAME SINCE 1994 At Active, we strongly believe in the team concept of care.

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WHERE YOU GO AND WHO YOU SEE FOR TREATMENT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE Michael L. Gross, MD Specialty: Sports Medicine, Knee & Shoulder

NEW THERAPIES AND CUSTOMIZED TREATMENT FOR YOUR CANCER. After spending over a decade at one of country’s most respected medical institutions, Dr. Nabil Rizk is bringing his singular talents to the John Theurer Cancer Center, as Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery.

Because each lung cancer case is unique, Dr. Rizk collaborates with a team of experts in medical and radiation oncology, thoracic surgery, pathology, respiratory, pulmonology, physical therapy and more.

To learn more, please visit JTCancerCenter.org/BCH or call 844.202.6868.

A. Ylenia Giuffrida, MD Specialty: Hand & Elbow

Michael T. Benke, MD Specialty: Sports Medicine

Oscar Vazquez, MD Specialty: Sports Medicine

Ralph C. Napoli, DPM Specialty: Foot & Ankle

Ira Esformes, MD Specialty: General Orthopedics

Raghu Maddela, MD, MPH Specialty: Non-Operative Spine Care

James C. Natalicchio, MD Specialty: Back & Neck

Carissa Meyer, MD Specialty: Hand & Wrist

Richard D. Rhim, MD Specialty: Spine Surgery

John F. Mendes, MD Specialty: General Orthopedics

Thomas K. John, MD Specialty: Joint Replacement

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THE MOST IMPORTANT TEAM IN ORTHOPEDICS

John Theurer Cancer Center at HackensackUMC and Palisades Medical Center

ELMWOOD PARK, NJ • EMERSON, NJ • HACKENSACK, NJ • MONTCLAIR, NJ • 1-844-ACTIVE-ORTHO www.activeorthopedic.com Health, Beauty & Fitness

Fall 2016

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FALL 2016 PUBLISHERS SHARON & STEVEN GOLDSTEIN

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER BRANDON GOLDSTEIN

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROBERT GOLD

DESIGN DIRECTOR CASSIE MICHELOTTI DEANA IVORY Adam Lipson, MD, FAANS, FACS David Poulad, MD, FAANS, FACS Ciro Randazzo, MD, MPH, FAANS

MARKETING & SALES LINDA BARBA AMY SCHWARTZ

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

PROVIDING PATIENTS WITH CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN & SPINE SERVICES Including: Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Deep Brain Stimulation Cyberknife Robotic Radiosurgery Minimally Invasive Vascular Procedures IGEA Brain & Spine works with all medical insurance plans, as well as patients covered under workers’ compensation, personal injury and motor vehicle claims.

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DARIA AMATO KERIN BRISCESE AUDRA BURSAE JESSICA HUMPHREY-CINTINEO SHEILA CLANCY CAROL EVANS JENNIFER GOTTLIEB CARL GREER JACQUELINE HOPE COLE NICHOLSON RACHEL OLIVIERA ELISE CHASSEN SOPOV

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness is published by BC the MAG Fine us at www.BCtheMag.com For advertising and information, please call 201-694-5197 or 201-265-2286.

Copyright 2016. All materials are the property of Bergen County The Magazine, LLC. and may not be copied or reproduced without written consent from the publishers.

KRAME CENTER

Publisher’s Letter

for Contemplative Studies and Mindful Living at Ramapo College

As the kids return to school and everything goes back to normal following the ebbs and flows of Summer, Fall can become a great time to once again focus on yourself.

Let’s face it: Each year the build up to Summer has us going to the gym routinely, and backing that up with a great diet. Then Memorial Day hits, the BBQs begin, and by mid August we find ourselves a few pounds heavier, looking forward to the Fall when you can once again get back to your routine in the lead up to the holidays. Let us help you help yourself!

What you’ll need to address first is your confidence. Consider this magazine your resource to getting back on track, with tips to get you motivated, prepped, and live a life of wellness free of injury, guilt, and hopefully, stress.

Within these pages you’ll meet many great authors with credentials ranging from life coaches to physical therapists, physicians, nutritionists, researchers, and personal trainers.

We are a sum of their many specialized and insightful parts.

Take Kerin Briscese for instance, a life coach and personal trainer, who wants you to realize your own value and capabilities, and will help you fight through the diet fads and superficial

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cleanses that don’t give you the sustaining results you’re truly capable of attaining.

Or we can speak to nutritionist Elise Chassen Sopov, who will take you through the steps of getting back into to the Autumn grind after a summer of splurging. Believe me, you weren’t alone. We all love a hot dog now and then!

These are just small examples of what you’ll find within these pages. Getting fit, feeling great, and reaching your goals aren’t tasks that one should handle all alone. We are here to help.

Live happily and healthy, Brandon

The Krame Center is pleased to announce that it is partnering with the pioneer in the mindfulness movement, the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) at UMass Medical School. CFM brought the benefits of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s MindfulnessBased Stress Reduction (MBSR) course to tens of thousands of people.

The Krame Center Offers a Variety of Programs Including: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course | Half-Day Silent Retreat Free Introduction to Mindfulness | Free Weekly Meditations Speaker Series | Mindfulness for Teachers K-12 CFM Oasis MBSR Fundamentals Professional Education Course

For more information or to sign up for our mailing list, visit www.ramapo.edu/kramecenter Follow us Facebook at KrameCenter Instagram and Twitter @kcmindfulness

Contents

FALL 2016 10 Ask Audra Audra Bursae answers all of your health and fitness questions 16 Beat the Summer Splurge Fall back into a healthy routine 20 Set the Stage for Success Tips for a smooth transition back to school 24 Understanding a Breast Cancer Diagnosis What to do in the event of bad news 26 Can’t We All Just Get Along Take a stand and unite against bullying 28 Sleep Tight 5 steps to a better sleep environment 30 Carbo-Load Why carbs might be your missing key to weight loss 34 It’s Time to Get Going 4 Hacks to increase productivity 36 Thinking with Your Heart 5 ways to keep your heart happy and healthy 40 Fat Chance Is the diet industry the answer to having the body you want?

42 Looking In All the Right Places Tips to finding inspiration 44 Teaching Your Kids Healthcare Helping college-age students understand their available care 46 Keeping it Aligned Back pain 101 48 Brain Food How probiotics help your brain work better 50 The Magnesium Myth Will Mg help boost athletic performance?

54 The Little Muscles that Could The muscles you really should be exercising 56 Health & Money How is Zika affecting the pharma industry?

58 Succulent Salmon Perfectly fishy fall recipes 64 Ask the Sports Doctor Hip and pelvis injuries in athletes 66 Pre-Conception Genetics to High-Risk Pregnancies What every woman needs to know about maternal-fetal medicine Disclaimer: This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material provided in this publication is provided for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition before undertaking any diet, exercise, other health program, or other procedure set out in this publication.

1. “Hi! I love your column and really value your advice.

I’m a new mom and am breastfeeding but am afraid that I’m not producing enough milk. Are there any foods you can suggest to help with milk production? I’ve read some conflicting things on the Internet and am hoping you can guide me. I can’t thank you enough!!”

First, congratulations on the new baby and for choosing to breastfeed!! I have exclusively and successfully breastfed my almost 1-year old daughter since she was born and am very in touch with breastfeeding needs. There is a lot of misinformation out there and it can all be a bit overwhelming.

Two of the most critical things necessary for successful breastfeeding are making sure the baby latches correctly and proper nutrition for you.

Your nutrition is key– making sure that you are eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet is essential for ample milk production. Because your body is supplying not only your own needs, but those of your baby, you should try to increase your daily calories by roughly 500 calories. This can easily be accomplished by incorporating avocado, a handful of nuts/nut butter, and a bowl of oatmeal into your daily regime.

Protein– One of the key components to healthy breast milk is protein. Your baby’s body needs protein to build the tissue

of his/her skin, muscle, and organs, facilitating his/her healthy growth and continued development. This protein has to come from your body, so it is essential that your diet supply a generous replacement level of protein to keep you and your baby healthy and strong. Remember, you are not only supplying your baby with the building blocks necessary to facilitate his/her rapid growth, you are also rebuilding your own body after the strain and demands of your pregnancy and childbirth. According to the National Institute of Health, while nursing, you should be taking in approximately 20 additional grams of protein each day over and above your usual intake to keep up with the additional demands on your body. You could easily get an extra 20 grams by incorporating a protein shake made with a vegan (soy-free) protein powder, a high-quality protein bar (Dale’s raw foods is one of my personal favorites), grass-fed collagen, or by simply increasing the amount of ounces of protein you’re eating at each meal (ie: if you normally eat 4 ounces of salmon, increase to 6 ounces).

Healthy fats– Remember, your breast milk is a combination of water, protein, and fat, so making sure that your diet includes ample healthy fats is essential for nutrient-rich milk production. Foods like walnuts, avocados, flax, chia, and hemp seeds are great choices as they are all high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for a healthy brain, heart and eye development.

Vegetables - Dark green vegetables are without a doubt among the most nutrition dense foods on the planet. One serving of greens will provide you with folate, antioxidants, carotenoids, amino acids, flavonoids and fiber, among other things.

Your body needs these nutrients to support everything from your immune system and your healthy cell repair/generation to blood, heart, brain and colon health, and so much more.

Galactagogues - Galactagogues are foods that help promote breast milk production. A

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few herbs that are very helpful include: Moringa is a superfood, loaded with health-supporting vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. It is high in vitamin C, vitamin A, beta carotene, and all 18 amino acids, making it a great plant-based source of protein.

Fenugreek is an herb that is most commonly used in Ayurvedic Indian cooking. While on its own it can have a somewhat off-putting, bitter taste, used in the right amounts, and with other complimentary herbs, it actually imparts a complex sweetness to foods.

Check it out for yourself- try stir-frying brown rice with coconut oil, veggies and some fenugreek. Fennel is known as a lactation stimulant, as well as a remedy for colic. Fennel is often used in herbal medicine to treat digestive disturbances like gas, bloating, and constipation. There are some great teas that contain all three of these galactagogues that you can purchase, specific for helping increase milk production - look for “Mother’s Milk” tea amongst many others. They really do work!

Lastly, Hydration is key. - I can’t stress enough the value of good hydration for your own health as well as for optimum milk production. It’s important to drink half of your body weight, in ounces, daily. You may need more/less depending on your climate, activity level and how many raw foods you eat daily, but this is a good starting point.So, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink 70 ounces per day under normal circumstances. When breastfeeding, you naturally want to replace the fluids that your baby is consuming as well, so I’d suggest keeping a large water bottle with you at alltimes so you can constantly sip (or guzzle) as much as you need. My own personal experience has been that I am much more thirsty as a nursing mother, so drinking more water has felt very natural. If you still need help getting your milk production up, please don’t hesitate to come in and see me. There is so much we can do to make sure that you and your baby are getting all the nutrients you need. Lastly, enjoy every minute with your new little love!

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2. “I am a sugar-addict and know I need to change my ways but I’m not sure how exactly how to do this as I’ve tried in the past and always revert back. Can you give me any advice?

You aren’t alone! Sugar has been shown to be as addictive as cocaine! The Standard American Diet is saturated with the stuff so if you’re eating a lot of processed foods, you’re guaranteed to be consuming a lot of sugar. I’m thrilled you want to minimize your intake and am happy to give you some suggestions.

It’s important to note that sugar has been linked to everything from diabetes and heart disease to skin problems, weight gain, depression/anxiety, and even cancer. In fact, because of the recent spotlight on the ill-effects of excess sugar in the diet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently required brands to highlight the sugar content on food labels in a bigger way.

Many people know sugar isn’t healthy but few actually know why.

Here’s the breakdown: when you eat sugar, your blood glucose level spikes, resulting in a burst of energy which is then followed by a quick crash. Many people experience highs and lows in their blood sugar throughout the day because when blood sugar starts to crash, we often look for more sugar to give us that quick burst of energy again. But the problem is that when we feed our fatigue more sugar, we end up feeling super run down and cranky, which leads to stronger cravings for sugar.

It’s important to note that sugar is extremely inflammatory this is why it is strongly correlated to so many illnesses. Sugar triggers the immune system. We have learned that chronic inflammation is the basis of all disease, so excess consumption of 12

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sugar can be detrimental to our overall health.

Even if you don’t suffer from diabetes or a chronic illness, I’d suggest minimizing your sugar intake and giving yourself a bit of a “detox”. Since sugar is correlated to so many different illnesses, I believe that everyone should consider reducing sugar intake, especially anyone who regularly struggles with feeling tired, moody, stiff, and/or achy.

Here’s a good starting point: for three days, don’t eat any foods with more than 15 grams of sugar per serving. What does this actually mean? All soda, alcohol, baked goods, ice cream, most yogurts, juices, bread (even wheat bread), acai bowls, smoothies, candy, most chocolate, and dried fruit.

The key to reducing sugar is to replace it with healthy fats. Try avocado, nuts/nut butter, hemp seeds, eggs, hummus, fish, etc.

But be prepared - as your body detoxes from excess sugar, there’s a strong chance you’re going to feel pretty awful. The good news is this shouldn’t last for more than three days, but those three days may be pretty terrible, depending on how much sugar you are used to consuming. Often people complain of feeling irritable, achy, headaches. But the good news is, once you’ve made it through the three days, you’ll probably feel amazing!

3. “I LOVE your recipes and am in need of some new breakfast options for my kids. They are sick of eggs and I don’t want them eating bagels every morning. Can you give me any suggestions?

Thank you so much!”

I’m so glad you’ve loved my recipes! This is such a common question that I get, I think a lot of people get stuck in a breakfast rut. I have some great suggestions that are not only kid-approved, but super healthy, as well! Hope you and your family enjoy them!

OAT M E A L WA F F L E S

Here’s the deal, if it really is sugar that’s driving your fatigue, mood swings, etc., you should start to feel better almost immediately.

Once you’ve completed the “sugar detox” for three days, I’d suggest keeping sugar intake to a minimum by reading labels, avoiding added sugars, and trying to stick no more than 15 grams of sugar per serving. I’d also suggest consuming a healthy fat source with your sugar to decrease the likelihood of a bloodsugar spike.

And lastly, I’d strongly suggest that you avoid artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes as they have been linked to increased sugar cravings and weight gain. Instead, opt to eat sugar in natural forms - fruit, root vegetables, and minimal amounts of raw honey/pure maple syrup/coconut nectar.

Directions: Whisk all ingredients together.

Heat oiled skillet until hot over medium heat.

Pour batter into hot pan in scant 1/4 cup increments.

Once bubbling, gently flip and cook for an additional few minutes.

Enjoy! They will store for about 5 days in the fridge.

B L U E B E R RY PA N C A K E S Makes about 8 pancakes - Two servings of 4 pancakes each Ingredients: • 3 TBS coconut flour • 1 TBS baking powder • 3 eggs, whisked • 2 TBS coconut oil, melted and cooled • 3 TBS unsweetened almond milk • 1/2 cup blueberries (also delicious with chocolate chips!)

Ingredients: • 1 1/2 cup oats (use certified gluten-free, if necessary) • 3/4-1 cup non-dairy milk • 1 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp cinnamon • 1 tsp vanilla • 1 egg • 1 1/2 TBS virgin/unrefined coconut oil • 2 TBS coconut palm sugar • 1/4 tsp salt • 1 TBS almond butter, sunflower seed butter or 1 TBS of coconut butter (not to be confused with coconut oil - it’s made from ground coconut meat, not just the oil) • 1 TBS chia seeds Directions: Blend all ingredients together. Start with 3/4 cup of milk and add more if needed to get everything blended. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Deposit ~1/2 cup of mix onto waffle iron, and cook to desired taste. *I use a regular Cuisinart waffle iron and set it between 3 and 4.

Health, Beauty & Fitness

Fall 2016

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6 whole eggs 3 TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Any veggies of choice (I often sauté onions, zucchini, and broccoli but use whatever you want!)

• Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast (can be found at any health food store and makes things taste cheesy without cheese – also full of B vitamins and protein!), optional but really delicious!

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly spray muffin pan with cooking spray or rub with avocado or coconut oil.

2. Saute veggies and put aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Once fully mixed, add veggies and mix again.

4. Pour egg mixture into prepared pan, filling cups about 2/3 full.

4. Sprinkle a touch of nutritional yeast among the cups. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until eggs set.

5. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. When completely cooled, muffins can be wrapped in plastic and frozen.

When ready to eat, simply enjoy cold or reheat.

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Audra Bursae is the founder of Nourish Mind + Body, a holistic wellness center in Cresskill. In her Ask Audra column, Audra offers her insights on nutrition and fitness. Readers are encouraged to submit any questions they may have and she will personally answer them by email or by addressing them in her column if she believes the topic would be beneficial to share with our readers.

You can contact Audra at audra@nourishmindandbody.com Find out more at www.nourishmindandbody.com

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B E AT T H E SUMMER SPLURGE FALL BACK INTO A HEALTHY ROUTINE

to pass up. Before you know it, September is here, and so is that extra weight you thought would be “easy” to lose over the summer. Well, just like the kids need to get back to school, we need to get back into the flow of healthy habits. For some, this may be no big deal. But for others, it isn’t so easy. Here are 5 suggestions to help you get back into the swing of things.

By Elise Chassen Sopov

DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST

Summer is over, and that means back to the reality of the hustle and bustle of balancing school and work, and life in general.

For many of us, the summer wreaks havoc on any sense of 16

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healthy routines we work so hard to establish and maintain during the year. Whether it’s due to vacations, food-focused social events, or just being home (or at the pool) all day with the kids, we seem to very easily abandon our healthy habits. When the grill comes out and cocktails start flowing, it’s just too hard

Yes, it’s the most important meal of the day. But, it will also help you establish a healthier eating pattern throughout the day. If you skip breakfast, you are more likely to over indulge

at lunch, which tends to precipitate the “I’ll start my diet tomorrow” attitude. Starting your day with a healthy balanced breakfast, chock full of protein and some fiber, will help you happily stick to your plan for the day.

SCHEDULE IN A WORKOUT find any time of day that will be realistic and consistent, and schedule it in your calendar just like you schedule your kids’ activities and doctor’s appointment. This leaves little room for excuses on why you never did it. Start slow and with activities Health, Beauty & Fitness

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Home Equity Line Of Credit

you will enjoy, and not feel like a chore. Try a new sport, a new class at the gym, or a new DVD to keep you interested.

Enlisting a friend or family member to join you may help with consistency as well, as long as you will also exercise if they are unavailable sometimes. I consider it a bonus if I have a workout buddy, but I’ve learned that most routines don’t last very long if you will only workout when that friend is available.

PLAN AHEAD Do yourself a favor, and take a few minutes, every single weekend, to plan out meals and snacks for the week, then create a grocery list before doing your food shopping. Take into consideration everyone’s activities, late work meetings, and appointments. This will force you to feel more organized as the week progresses. Planning ahead will end up making your life much easier during the busy work week, not only because you won’t have to have the dreaded “what should I make for dinner tonight?” conversation with yourself, but it will also minimize the need for unhealthy last minute take-out decisions. The more meals you will eat at home, the easier staying healthy will be.

PREPARATION Planning is great, but prepping ahead makes all the difference.

Depending on your family’s preferences, you may choose just to have sides and veggies prepped ahead. Healthy crockpot meals and make-ahead soups, stews and casseroles are a real time saver, and healthy recipes abound on the internet. It also helps to cook a little extra and freeze some pre-made meals for quick, healthy dinners needed in a pinch.

One additional tip, I always take the time to wash and cut fruits and veggies right after food shopping for easy access during the week, whether it be for snacking, quick salads, or to quickly cook to accompany dinner. I cringe when I have to throw out delicious produce that has gone bad at the end of the week, and that only seems to happen when it’s still sitting in its original packaging!

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DRINK LOTS OF CALORIE FREE WATER Or sparkling water, and limit sweetened and alcoholic beverages. This is a no-brainer when it comes to slashing calories. It will also keep you feeling more satiated and less likely to start noshing. The feeling of hunger is often confused with thirst, so if you know it’s not realistically time to eat again, and you find yourself hunting around the kitchen cabinets, or the snack table at work, guzzle a tall glass of water or drink a warm tea and find yourself a distraction until your actual hunger sets in.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY Establishing regular bedtimes for you and the kids is essential.

It is well known that kids with consistent bedtimes do better in school, and it’s no secret that exercising, meal prepping and just balancing life is much less daunting when you aren’t sleep deprived! Consistency with a healthy eating routine is also important if you are trying to lose a few pounds. Try not to let the weekends sabotage your goals. You should be somewhat planning ahead for those days as well.

If you are having trouble re-focusing, consider taking a step back and listing out all the reasons you want this. Make that list personal. It’s for you and nobody else, but it should include the reason that triggered your decision to become healthy in the first place. Step on the scale, set realistic goals, BE CONSISTENT, and forge ahead on your journey back to a healthy reality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elise Chassen Sopov, MS, RDN, CLT is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of Nourish Your Body, LLC, located in Oradell and Cedar Grove, NJ. She holds a Masters’ Degree in Nutrition & Applied Physiology from Columbia University and specializes in adult and pediatric weight management, treating various medical conditions where diet and exercise have been a proven modality of treatment, and is also specially trained to help people with food sensitivities.

For more information, visit www.nourishyourbodyllc.com

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set the stage for success Scott, Rachel, Charles, Melissa and Michael Berkowitz

tips for a smooth transition back to school

By Tiffany Jenkins

reinstate bedtimes:

For parents putting bright-eyed students on the bus for the very first time and for seasoned moms and dads who know the drill inside and out, gearing up for another year of school is a process. The shopping extravaganzas, trips to the doctor for physicals, endless forms and paperwork all culminate in a single moment: the first day back to school.

Easing back into earlier bedtimes will make things smoother for everyone when the alarms start ringing on early school day mornings. Well before the start of school, gradually back off more time each night – in 15-minute increments, for example – to get kids back in bed early enough to capture at least 10 hours of sleep, the amount recommended for school-aged children and adolescents by theAnnette National Institutes of Myers and Ron Soussa Health.

Often, it’s this first day (or days) that set the tone for the school year to come. Help your child feel prepared and confident to tackle whatever the school year brings with these tips for a successful start.

plan well-balanced meals: Summer break brings a lax approach to many aspects of life, and healthy eating is often one of them.

However, nutrition plays an important role in overall development and countless studies show correlation between academic performance and good nutrition.

As the school year approaches, work at creating healthy menus. If hectic scheduling makes it difficult to get well-balanced meals in lunchboxes and on the dinner table through the week, allocate a portion of the weekend for a family prep session.

Laurie Siegel and Gary Siepser

get creative to boost enthusiasm: Part of the fun of heading back to the classroom is a shiny new set of supplies. Build your kids’ excitement by letting them select the tools they’ll use to bring home good grades, like pens and pencils. Despite Beth Hirschberg a keyboard and touchscreen-driven world, sales of and Gil Sandler color-focused products like felt-tip markers, porous (fine line) pens and colored pencils are on the rise.

In an effort to follow and respond to trends, companies like Zebra Pen continue to introduce products that allow for personal expression, whether in the ink color chosen for notes or the barrel design to complement your kids’ style.

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explore outside of academics:

establish a transition tradition:

Developing interests outside the classroom builds confidence and character, teaches discipline and may help reveal hidden passions or talents that translate into future scholarships or career choices. Now is an ideal time to explore the options available in your community and complete necessary registrations as many extra-curricular activities are closely linked to the traditional school calendar.

Celebrate the end of summer and the fresh start ahead by creating a special family tradition. It may be a final backyard campout for the season or a scrapbooking project that captures memories from the summer and describes goals for the school year. The time together to talk about what lies ahead can help get the family geared up for a successful school year.

express personality with style: follow the paper trail: The volume of paperwork associated with sending a child to school can be overwhelming. From registration forms and emergency contact sheets to physicals and immunization records, the list goes on and on. Keep on track with a list of all the materials you’re responsible for completing, along with special notes for those that require visits to the doctor’s office or other appointments.

take a tour: Especially for new students, but even for experienced kids, spend some time getting familiar with the school before the big day. Seeing the bus drop-off location, classroom, bathrooms, cafeteria and any other major features ahead of time can help soothe jitters and lets you proactively answer worries or questions about how those first days may unfold.

Encouraging your child to develop his or her own unique personality can be tough with social “rules” and official policies that determine dress code, supplies and more. When you get down to it, though, there are dozens of ways to let kids explore personal expression without breaking any rules or subjecting them to unwanted attention.

United Water is now SUEZ

accessories: Even at schools with uniforms or dress codes, there is some latitude when it comes to accessorizing. Dress codes vary, but many allow flexibility in things such as socks, shoes, hair bows and jewelry.

school supplies: Let kids choose their own writing implements as a personal statement of self-expression, which is especially important to middle and high school students. With so many options, it’s easy to bypass the basic bargain selection and choose from an array of new designs and creative features, such as those offered by Zebra Pen.

personal space: For younger students, the area designated as a student’s own may be limited to a backpack or storage cubby. For older kids, there’s an entire locker to consider. Customizing these personal areas lets kids assert a clear stamp of individuality. Photos, artwork and treasured mementoes bring these personal spaces to life.

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1/28/2016 1:28:19 PM

UNDERSTANDING

DR. BRUCE G. FREUND

A BREAST CANCER

DIAGNOSIS

By Claire Thomas Whether it’s October or not, breast cancer is one of the most recognized cancers in the world. Thanks to massive public awareness campaigns, nearly everyone understands the significance behind a pink ribbon, but how many can say they have breast cancer knowledge beyond pink?

The truth is, breast cancer is extremely complex and not a one-size-fits-all disease. It’s classified into different types based on the unique biology of each tumor, including the size, whether and where it’s spread, how it looks under the microscope and what’s causing it to grow at the cellular level, according to the American Cancer Society. Understanding the various biological features is critical, as they help determine treatment decisions and directly affect patient outcomes.

As breast cancer survivor Pamela Cunningham knows all too well, knowledge is power 24

when navigating a breast cancer journey. When diagnosed with Stage II HER2-positive early breast cancer, an aggressive type of the disease, Cunningham said that while she understood there were different stages, she was shocked to discover there were so many different types.

In fact, her mother had faced breast cancer several years earlier and neither Cunningham nor her father knew what kind her mother had.

To better understand her diagnosis, she talked with friends who had faced similar situations and even sought a second opinion. After learning more, Cunningham felt confident in her decision to receive a treatment regimen that helped shrink her tumor prior to undergoing surgery to remove it.

“I’m really thankful I went the way I did,” Cunningham said. “I would advise other women to do their own research, find out the available treatments and don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about

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Fall 2016

all of your options and possible side effects.”

Cunningham and her oncologist, Dr. Karen Tedesco of New York Oncology Hematology, offer the following tips to help patients more fully understand how to approach a breast cancer diagnosis.

1)Strength in Numbers: The news of a cancer diagnosis can be incredibly overwhelming to patients and their loved ones.

Make the most of the first few doctor appointments by bringing a friend outside of the immediate family to ensure the information is being absorbed and the right questions are being asked.

2)Build a Support Team: In addition to family and friends, it’s important to have a strong health care and surrounding support team. Seek out nurse navigators, local breast support groups and financial assistance to ensure you’re properly informed and have all the resources you need. Do not hesitate to consider

a second opinion until you feel 100 percent confident in your health care team and treatment plan.

3)Understand Your Diagnosis: Learning about your specific type of breast cancer is essential because the unique biology of your tumor can directly impact your breast cancer journey. Knowing the four S’s – stage, size, status and subtype – of your tumor can help you better understand your diagnosis and the treatment options available to you.

4)Ask Questions, Then Ask More: Consider asking your doctor the following questions: Are you eligible for clinical trials? Are there special treatments geared toward your specific type of breast cancer?

Do I need surgery? Does surgery have to be the first step? Being actively involved can help ensure each patient receives the best treatment option for them.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? TAKE A STAND AND UNITE AGAINST BULLYING

By Roger Welch Today’s students are increasingly at risk of being bullied, and the effects of bullying can be devastating.

Bullying is a problem that affects millions of students of all races and classes. One in four kids is bullied and 42 percent of kids have been bullied while online. According to data from STOMP Out Bullying, the leading national anti-bullying and cyberbullying organization for kids and teens, bullies are more likely to skip school, drop out of school, smoke, drink alcohol, get into fights and be arrested at some point in their lives. Many kids who have experienced bullying show decreases in academic achievement and school participation. Some kids are so tormented that suicide has become an alternative for them and some bullying targets resort to violent retaliation.

On the first Monday of October, STOMP Out Bullying’s Blue Shirt Day World Day of Bullying Prevention raises awareness by giving kids a voice, making it the day that bullying prevention is heard around the world. October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and this year on Oct. 3, students, schools and adults will wear blue shirts in solidarity so everyone hears the message about bullying prevention.

Education is another important element of the campaign, which strives to promote awareness, encourage communication and ultimately prevent bullying by sharing tips such as these: Understand bullying behaviors. There are many different types of bullying. Bullying is defined as intentional, aggressive and repeated behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength. It can take several forms, 26

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including physical (hitting, punching, beating); verbal (teasing, name calling, threats); emotional (intimidation, social exclusion, threats); and cyberbullying (online harassment, hate messages, threats, impersonation and other digital abuse).

Learn to recognize signs of bullying. Students who are victims of bullying may come home with torn or missing pieces of clothing, books or other belongings. They may have unexplained cuts, bruises and scratches. Bullying victims may appear sad, moody, teary or depressed and may seem anxious and suffer from low self-esteem.

Bullying can manifest physical afflictions, too, such as headaches or stomachaches, trouble Chrissy sleeping orJim frequent and Yu bad dreams and a loss of appetite.

Have conversations often and approach your concerns with sensitivity. Bullying can cause shame and embarrassment. When talking with a child, don’t just ask if they’re being bullied. Instead, ask questions such as: “I’ve heard a lot about bullying in the news. Is that going on at your school?” or “Do you know anyone who is being bullied?”

Russ and Lydia Furnari

Know what steps to take when bullying happens. If you suspect a child is being bullied at school, it is never a good idea to approach the bully’s parents. Rather, prepare documentation of what has been occurring, with as much detail as possible. Schedule a meeting with the principal and ask – don’t demand – for their help. Document the action steps agreed upon at this meeting and follow up to ensure changes are implemented and the bullying ceases.

Yu,have Ty Skamas In some cases, if laws have been brokenChrissy or there and Holly Manuelian been threats against a child, it may be appropriate to also involve local law enforcement.

Get involved in the anti-bullying movement. Purchase your Blue Shirt, plus find more tips and resources to help prevent bullying, at stompoutbullying.org.

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Photo courtesy of Getty Images Kris Horgan and Cleopatra Kollias-Perez

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STEPS TO A BETTER SLEEP ENVIRONMENT

By Sheila M. Clancy MS, CHES

P

racticing poor sleep habits is one of the most underrated problems in our country today. Insomnia has been on the rise and has now reached epidemic proportions. We are a nation of tired people struggling to get to work, be productive, complete our weekly chores and plow through our responsibilities while still trying to fit in social events and hobbies. When we run out of time for everything, one of the first things many people do is cut out their sleep, hoping to make it up by sleeping late on the weekend.

Contrary to popular belief, your body does not “turn off” when you sleep. When we sleep, our bodies go through many different processes that do not happen during our waking hours. New research shows that a set of brains cells wash over the brain in a synchronized flow, cleansing brain tissue of toxins to keep your cognitive abilities working properly. Sleep can delay the aging process, regulates metabolism and body weight, and repairs damaged tissue from exercise or injury.

People who don’t get enough sleep tend to get sick more because the immune system is compromised. Lack of sleep causes shorter attention spans and slowed thinking. Poor sleep quality can inhibit your brain’s sorting process which can result in poor memory and there is a big correlation between depression and insomnia. With all the negative effects that lack of sleep can have on your body, we should all be making that extra effort to get the recommended 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night.

For people who have trouble falling asleep, creating a better sleep environment can be the first step in solving your problem. Here are 5 steps to creating a sleep inducing environment:

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1 Darken your room.

The ideal sleep environment is one that is as close to completely dark as possible. All types of light, including television screens, night-lights, street lights, smart phones, a glaring screen on an alarm clock and even moonlight can be registered by the pineal gland which will affect the quality of your sleep (even if your eyes are closed).

Close your blinds or curtains or even get darkening curtains for your windows, and shut off the TV.

2

Decrease the noise. Some people seem more sensitive to this than others but noises can rouse you from sleep or keep you from settling in to start your good night’s sleep. Sleeping with ear plugs can decrease noise or constant sound such as an air conditioner, fan or noise machine (which can play white noise or other calming sounds such as crickets chirping, ocean waves crashing or steady rain) can drown out the startling sounds.

3

Keep your room cool. When your bedroom is too warm it can decrease the production of melatonin in your body which can disrupt sleep. If the temperature is too warm it can confuse your internal body clock which can postpone falling asleep or cause you to wake up early. If you are not sure if your room is the optimal temperature, turn it down 1 or 2 degrees for a week and see if it makes any difference. There is not one perfect temperature for everyone.

4 5 Get rid of the technology. These days it is not uncommon to find a television, cell phone, computer and/or ipad all in the bedroom.

You don’t want to be disturbed by the pinging of emails or texts on your phone, the humming of the computer, the sound of the television or the blue light from any of these devices. Keep these things out of the bedroom as much as possible.

Keep the pets out of the bedroom.

Although we like to think of our pets as part of the family, the bedroom should be off limits. While they mean well and you love them, having your cat or dog nudge you, stretch, groom themselves or dig their paws into you or the bed while they walk in circles to get comfortable is very distracting.

Show them your love once you get up and start your day-don’t let them sleep with you!

If you are struggling with getting quality sleep, making changes in your sleeping environment can be your first step in rectifying your situation. These are all easy enough to address and can make you feel well rested, more energetic and less irritable. Make a few of these easy changes on your way to a better night’s sleep!

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WHY CARBS MIGHT BE YOUR MISSING KEY TO FAT LOSS

By Frank Poveromo The body is a very complex thing, but with the right knowledge, you can use your body’s natural functions to work in your advantage. The body may have mentally evolved over the last few hundred years, but digestion and fat storage has not. Many people each year vow to trim down, tone up and get fit. Sadly, the majority of people each year who set out to do these things get derailed. This can be avoided if you arm yourself with the proper knowledge before making unnecessary sacrifices.

SIMPLECARBS- Simple carbs will include things that are generally easy to break down. Such foods include apples, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, carrots, etc. These carbs, while high in the glycemic index, have a lower glycemic load. In order for these foods to actually be considered bad, the servings would have to be quite large.

REFINED- These carbs tend to come from more processed foods. Examples include white bread, white rice, white pasta, potato bread, chips, Italian bread, bagels, wraps etc. These foods contain such low amounts of grain, they are often referred to as “empty calories.”

The most common fallacy committed by the average fitness enthusiast is not fully grasping nutritional and exercise concepts. When it comes to results and diet choice, it always seems that carbohydrates get a bad reputation. Let’s learn COMPLEX- These carbs generally why and how we can keep carbs and still are less processed while also containing lose fat. more whole grain and wheat. Depending on the grain source and type of food they CARBS ARE NOT usually include natural sources of fiber as well. These foods, while tending to THE ENEMY be slightly higher in calories (at times) This may go against everything you may as compared to refined carbs, tend to have heard, but hear me out. By the time be lower glycemic, easier to digest and you are done reading this you will have a absorb, and will result in less glucose adipose storage (fat storage). better grasp of how to use carbs to your advantage – and that might just make your day.

There are 3 major types of carbs: Simple (high glycemic) Refined (high glycemic & highly processed) Complex (lower glycemic & less processed)

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Complex Carbs include: Quinoa Oatmeal (steel cut, original or non processed) Brown Rice Peas & Beans

Using that information, lets see how it fits with exercise. When exercise is introduced, the body will begin to increase calorie expenditure (total net cal/ per day). Depending on the intensity of exercise, the body will rely on either fat storage or other means for fuel. What we aim to learn by the end of this article is how to use more of your fat storage to fuel your workouts.

TYPES OF EXERCISE: RESISTANCE TRAINING - While

most people tend to associate resistance training with bulking bodies and increases in body weight; most novice exercisers don’t grasp the true nature and benefit that resistance training provides. When resistance training is introduced at a moderate to high intensity the body uses carbs stored in the liver/ muscles for fuel. If a person can maintain this intensity long enough the body will soon deplete of its immediate carb storage. [Target

Duration: 30 minutes or more.]

STEADY STATE TRAINING - (SST)

Also called Controlled Tempo cardio. The benefit of Steady State Training is once your body has reached its Target Heart Rate and you manage to maintain it for 3 minutes or longer, your body will adjust its metabolism to support. The goal once we have maintained this HR for 3 minutes is to keep it within 5 beats of that number for the next 20 minutes without stopping. (This can be maintained for up to

40 minutes after resistance training without having any bad effects.)

CIRCUIT TRAINING OR HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING - High

intensity training (HIT) demands higher metabolic function within the body, thus causing us to use more stored glucose (carbs).

Circuit training activates higher metabolic demand causing carbs to deplete quicker. Once this happens our bodies turn to another

source of fuel namely fat.

How does this mean I will be able to eat carbs and lose fat?

Look at carbs as fuel. A few days a week, aim to eat a small amount of carbs 10-30minutes prior to exercise. The body will make adaptation to use the carbohydrates in your body first. If the intensity of that workout remains at a moderate level or higher for more than 30-40 minutes, (this is including short rests during your workout) your body will begin to turn to another source of fuel in order to save some reserve.

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When it comes to heart health...

How does this mean I get to eat carbs?

On days where you know you will be working out hard, you should choose to have carbs. On days where you will not be working out or will not be working out as hard, I suggest trimming a serving or 2 of carbs from that day.

Use this as a personal challenge and reward system for getting yourself to complete more intense workouts per week. The more your workout and the harder you workout the more frequently you will be able to eat those good carbs.

How do I structure my workout so my body decides to use the fat?

General guideline for creating your own program: Warm-up [10-12 minutes]

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30 minutes of Resistance Switch to Steady State Cardio (SST).

•The longer you can remain in this fat burning zone the better. Beware, if you go too long your body will begin to save the fat so don’t overdo it.

•The total length of a workout should never be longer then an hour and 30 minutes for non advanced exercise participants. (This leaves a max of 1hr to do cardio depending.)

TIP:Once you have com-

pleted the workout it is best if you eat a small portion of easily digestible carbs.

For a lot of people having ½ an apple before and ½ a workout does the trick.

What’s a sample of “carbs on workout days”?

Popular Choices: (Pick 1 from each or substitute your own)

Workout Part 1: Resistance or Circuit Training Lasting for 30 minutes (or longer).

•This should be 65% or more of your physical abilities for all 30 min.

•After about 30-minutes your body will deplete the glycogen it’s willing to use.

BREAKFAST:

Workout Part 2: After

[½ Serving] Apple

[½ Serving] cup oatmeal in the AM [½ Serving] Grapefruit in the AM [1 Serving] Slice of Organic Whole Grain Bread

Pre & Post Workout Options:

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[½ Serving] Grapefruit [½ Serving] Pasta (Whole Grain/ Wheat) [½ Serving] Quinoa

DINNER:

[1 Serving] Whole Grain Pasta [1 Serving] Quinoa [2-3 Servings] Vegetables The notion that all carbs must be cut out of your diet is purely a fallacy. The truth of carbs is: if you can avoid the bad ones, you can still use carbs to keep you satisfied during your quest for reducing fat. If you attempt to avoid them all, you will want them even more.

Always make sure the days you eat the most carbs are the days you have the hardest workouts. A long workout does not mean it’s hard. We want the intensity of the workouts to follow the structure I have provided above. The cardio at the end is supplementing your high intensity workouts.

Do not let cardio become your main source of working out!

Frank currently holds 8 Nationally Accredited Certifications ranging from Personal Trainer to Corrective Exercise. He currently is certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), The American Council on Exercise (ACE), Internation-

al Sports Science Association (ISSA), Penn Foster as a Physical Therapy Aide, and more.

While obtaining an Associates degree in exercise science from Bergen Community College he started his own non profit organization named Object Fitness LLC. He created this in an effort to publish free and accurate information about exercise and fitness, blog, publish recipes and much more. He is now completing his Junior year at Stockton University in Galloway NJ with a major in Biology. Frank has experience in weight training, strength and conditioning, boot camps, Crossfit, and FMS. He has also accumulated around 4500 hours of hands on experience in the physical therapy.

Frank specializes in weight loss, strength and conditioning, and injury prevention.

For more information or to Contact Frank email: ObjFitness@ gmail.com or simply visit www.

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GET SOME REST Without getting good sleep and recharging your brain, it’s impossible to stay on top of everything going on around you. It may be challenging to carve out time dedicated to resting, but it can pay off in the long run by planning to cut yourself some slack and get out of the office.

Make sure to get away from your cell phone, computer and other devices well before crawling into bed, that way your brain isn’t still charging ahead when you’re trying to shut down.

KEEP A CALENDAR One of the simplest ways to organize your life is to write down your schedule – even the simplest, most mundane appointments.

Being able to take a quick peek at your calendar to see what you have to do in the coming hours, days and weeks can help take pressure off trying to memorize everything.

Whether you’re using a physical calendar or typing appointments and reminders into an app on your phone or computer, it’s an easy way to stay on track.

IT’S TIME TO GET GOING 4 HACKS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

by John Newsome

With so much technology available at your fingertips today, make sure you’re taking advantage of the technological tools at your disposal, such as Bamboo Slate and Bamboo Folio smartpads.

These tools seamlessly bridge the gap between paper and digital life by turning your handwritten notes into digital files, helping you to keep track of appointments, ideas and

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“Paper notebooks still play an essential role at the beginning of the idea process,” said Mike Gay, Senior Vice President for Wacom’s Consumer Business Unit. “They are often the last analog step within an otherwise fully digital lifestyle. So our goal was simple: Add the benefits of digital technology to the paper notebook and create an intuitive tool to help make ideas, no matter where and how they start.”

These smartpads sync paper notes through their app, which offers the advantages of working digitally, including easy editing, organizing and sharing. The sleek tablets also allow files to be exported and made available to several third-party apps, that way you have options at your fingertips.

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With appointments and meetings to remember, tasks to complete and jobs to finish, life can get crazy in the business world. That’s why busy professionals need to stay on top of their game with simple tricks to help take care of work and life, day in and

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anything else that pops into your brain.

day out.

Luckily, solutions exist so that your schedule won’t drag you down. To help limit the stress and anxiety of everyday

KEEP A CLEAN DESK Although it’ll take a few extra minutes each day, cleaning your workspace can help take away stress. With a messy desk, you might feel cluttered, disorganized and overwhelmed, so toss your trash and unnecessary papers.

Cleaning can also be a good way to wind down when it’s almost time to clock out for the day. By clearing your mind and wiping down your space instead of stressing over the final few minutes of work, you’re helping yourself in more ways than one.

Life can get hectic and it’s not always easy to slow things down. Instead of letting time – or a lack thereof – wear you down, use the resources around you to help take on the day, every day.

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business life, here are a few “hacks” for you and your busy colleagues.

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1. Take care of the basics A healthy diet and exercise regimen are essential for a healthy heart. There’s no way around it. Most of the main predictors for heart disease, including hypertension, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity can be modulated with diet and exercise. For some tips, the American Heart Association has an excellent guideline for a heart-healthy diet, and they recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week.

On top of preventing heart disease, research also shows that certain foods and regular exercise can make you happier. In a study of more than 12,000 subjects, people who consumed the most processed foods like fries, fried chicken, cookies, and cakes were 37% more likely to become depressed than people who avoided junk foods. Mediterranean diets seem to cause the opposite effect and may slow the rate of neuropsychological decline in older age. Exercise can make these mood and cognitive benefits even more

THINKING WITH YOUR HEART

pronounced. In the short-term, a good exercise session can improve your mood for about 4 hours, but regular exercise long-term has the potential to improve mood and self-esteem, and slow the progression of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, depression, and ADHD by promoting neuron creation.

2. Invest in positive relationships Emotionally supportive relationships, characterized by caring, sympathy, and understanding keep your heart healthy. In fact, the degree to which you feel loved in your relationships affects your risk for atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and how quickly it advances. Research also shows that negative close relationships increase the risk for coronary heart disease even more than positive relationships can protect you from it. That’s because negative interactions carry heavy risks for depression, reduced self-esteem, and anger, all of which lead to inflammatory and immune stress responses that damage your organs.

Ultimately, it’s important for you to feel valued, so do your heart a favor by seeking supportive relationships and managing negative ones, whether that means repairing them, distancing yourself, or asking for outside help. Recognize, also, that relationships are a two-way street. In a study of individuals above 70 years old, something as trivial as helping others with small tasks and making them feel like help is available when they need it has been shown in research to prolong life for both parties.

5 SCIENTIFICALLYBACKED WAYS TO KEEP YOUR HEART HAPPY AND HEALTHY

3. Limit your work stress Work can come with a lot of heart-damaging stress, especially since most of us spend the majority of our waking hours working.

Maybe you have little control over your job prospects. Maybe you lack support from your colleagues. Maybe you experience an unfairly low pay rate. Or maybe you feel a lack of due recognition. These circumstances have all been found in research to be associated with risk factors for coronary heart disease like high LDL cholesterol levels and hypertension. In a study of more than 10,000 subjects, a chronic (5-year) effort-reward imbalance at work independently doubled the risk of new coronary heart disease.

by Benita Lee

Even if this speaks to your personal situation, there are certain things you can do to help your heart. Effective modifications include giving up an over-commitment to work. You may just be exhibiting too much need for control. Also, you can try stressrelieving techniques like regularly performing progressive muscular relaxation, listening to your favorite music, and monitoring emotions that might be counterproductive. Instead of bottling up stress, that energy can be used instead to remind yourself that you can always freshen your perspective, stimulate conversations with your colleagues about structural changes at your company,

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4. Tune into your Leading with Experience

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feelings Research shows that tuning into your

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emotions, being self-aware, and remaining optimistic are all keys to a healthy heart.

You’ve likely felt your pulse racing at a time when you were very defensive, scared, or angry. That’s because hostility, anxiety, and anger are highly reactive emotions that increase your body’s stress response. As a result, your body can lose some control

stress. A tendency towards forgiveness has also been proposed in research to affect physiological health. The American Heart Association even has a resource for coping with feelings, specifically to prevent health risks in cardiac patients.

5. Make meaningful life goals As mentioned when discussing work stress, lowering one’s over-commitment to work can increase happiness and protect your heart’s health. More broadly though, extrinsic success goals in general, which include pursuing the ability to buy things, impressing or controlling others, and succeeding in a job, negatively relate to life satisfaction. In research, focusing on material goals predicts a whole slew of heart disease risk factors like depression, anxiety, low life contentment, disrupted sleep, and emotional disturbances. Health, in contrast, was found to be higher in people with more intrinsic goals like relational intimacy - deep interpersonal relationships built on trust and affection - and generativity - giving of oneself to others and being concerned for future generations. These pursuits, along with prayer, meditation, and reading spiritual texts have been shown in research to support health and happiness, especially when individuals were faced with making meaning of and adjusting to change and adversity.

of your heart rate and initiate processes that promote blood clots and high blood pressure, both of which contribute to an increased risk for a heart attack. The hopeful news is that social support has

been shown to decrease these disease risks, even for Type A (‘hostile’) and Type D (‘distressed’) people who tend to veer towards reactive responses. Another negative emotion, depression, also acts as a strong risk factor for heart disease and can benefit from social involvement.

Before stressful events come along, it’s critical that you have modes of support set up. Counseling and other uplifting relationships and activities can help you explore unhealthy emotional responses and encourage practical problem-solving, which will give your optimism a healthy boost. Quite interestingly, research studies have linked high levels of optimism with lower levels of blood pressure and higher levels of circulating immune cells that help the body defend against

When the cardiovascular system is studied specifically, research finds that people who practice self-reflection and live consistently with intrinsic life goals have lower levels of heart disease risk. Truly, the potential inadvertent health benefits of a relationally-oriented and generous life are many. The list includes less cigarette smoking, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, more physical activity, less alcohol abuse, better diets, lower stress levels, greater social support, lower hostility and anxiety, greater optimism and hope, and greater well-being overall.

Benita Lee is a medical expert for Labdoor, an online and mobile app resource providing research and insight for a variety of medical topics. Find out more at labdoor.com

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By Kerin Briscese

Is The Diet Industry T h e A n s w e r To Having The Body Yo u Wa n t ?

For any of you who follow my Facebook Page, the title of this article is not that shocking. I have been disgusted at the amount of people, specifically women, willing to put their bodies through hell in order to lose a few pounds.

Regardless if you need to lose 10, 30 or 200lbs there is a “quick fix” for all of it! But are they really the long term answer?

Lets start with lap band surgery and gastric bypass.

Surgeries made for those who apparently have tried everything else, are 100+lbs overweight and this is their last resort. Both surgeries help you limit the amount of food you can hold in order to lose weight. Isn’t this every women’s dream? A surgery that officially makes you unaccountable for your actions. You no longer have to choose if you should or should not go for that 10th cookie because you simply can’t! Both surgeries come with risks that are too long to mention on this page, but more importantly, they carry a high risk of weight regain. Rather than address the issues that led you to be overweight, you’re trying to work your way fully around it.

Now for those of you who have to lose 10, 20, or 50lbs, these surgeries must seem completely crazy. But is your route for weight loss that different? Lets take a look at HCG, which is actually backed by doctors. The beloved Dr.Oz states “his version” is the safe version.

For those of you who don’t know, HCG is a hormone found in pregnant women that is given to dieters along with a 500 calorie diet. It is believed that HCG hormone is the reason why the dieters can lose weight without feeling hungry. The original HCG diet allows no exercise accompanied by extremely odd food rules. All in the name of quick weight loss! Don’t buy into the BS.

limited on space and the specifics of the risks, not to mention the statistics on regaining weight alone would be pages long. So for the purpose of this article, let’s get to the point.

At what point did we, as a country decide that we would rather spend $7, $30, $1000+ on surgeries and products that state on the label serious health side effects and no guaranteed long term results then do the work that is needed in order to lose weight in a healthy sustainable way?

There was a time when I struggled with weight. I did every diet under the sun, and my weight went up and down. It was torture! When you are in the moment of hating how you look, being uncomfortable all the time and desperate as to what to do, these “quick fixes” look and sound sexy.

They look like the answer because we want someone just to tell us what to do. Because embarking on a journey with products that basically endorse starvation and restriction feeds into our self-belief that we aren’t good enough. We don’t deserve to feel happy, we don’t deserve love, all while feeding into our shame. It simply continues to push the belief system that eating moderately, enjoying our food while maintaining an active lifestyle is way too difficult. Who has all that time to take a moment to think about the greater good of our health and bodies?

I get it, your intentions start out of every morning full of promise and hope, but your sabotaging habits leave you never reaching your goals. That is why a much bigger piece is at play then just having good intentions.

You have to decide that you are done. Done with yo-yo dieting. Done with saying you don’t have the time, the money, the energy. You must believe you deserve and are capable of having a body you love and are crazy about.

That you are so much better and deserve so much more Then we have supplement companies such as Isagenix that than starving yourself, beating yourself up day in and day claim to be healthy options for weight loss. Of course, out. That you will have the body you want, look great in a in order to lose weight you have to buy and stay on their bikini and you are going to do it in a way that says, “I love “rich in nutrients” products. Their products also don’t my body, I cherish my health and my life”. make you hungry at a whooping 1200-1500 calories a day regardless of your specific body composition, activity, For help on where to start, I have designed this free age, height or current weight. Hmm interesting. Too e-book that will give you the tools to jump start your hot good to be true? body! Sign up here kerinbriscese.com/free Now I could go on and on ripping into basically every weight loss, quick fix and fad diet out there, but I’m www.HauteFitnessHealth.com 40

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LOOKING IN ALL THE R I G H T P L AC E S

www.Boutique811.com 201.485.8650 811 Franklin Lake Road Franklin Lakes

5 WAY S T O F I N D I N S P I R AT I O N

by Peter Couch When a significant goal or challenge stands before you, it may be tough to envision the finish line. Finding and drawing on what motivates and inspires you will make the journey toward that successful finish line more pleasant, and your ultimate victory that much sweeter.

Dig deep and find the fortitude you need to achieve ambitions big and small with these sensible tips.

1.Reflect on past experience.

While it may seem contradictory to look into the past as you seek to arm yourself with inspiration for the future, the truth is, you can learn a lot from your personal history. Think about the situations throughout 42

your life when you’ve felt most empowered and most inspired to be your very best. Consider what you can take from those circumstances and apply it to your current position.

2.Find what inspires you. Once you pinpoint what motivates you most, consider how to integrate it into the task or goal you’re striving toward. For example, you could follow the lead of mountaineer Masha Gordon, who recently scaled Denali National Park in Alaska, her last climb of the Explorer’s Grand Slam, which is an endurance challenge that requires climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents and trekking to the North and South poles on skis.

“My children are my greatest

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inspiration, yet I couldn’t bring them with me on my climbs,” Gordon said. “I searched for a way to ensure that their inspirational words would always be with me. For my trek on Denali, I asked them to write motivational messages on my gear with Sharpie Markers, which have high-contrast ink that resists fading even when exposed to the most challenging conditions like harsh UV rays, snow, rain and mud. When I had moments where I struggled during the summit, I was able to gather strength from their words written on my gear.”

3.Take a detour. If you’re struggling to identify the right motivator for your situation, simply take a break and direct your energy elsewhere.

Sometimes forcing your mind

and heart to focus too strongly can prevent the most genuine feelings and emotions from surfacing. Taking a step back to gain perspective will allow time for the most authentic forms of inspiration to arise.

4.Surround yourself with inspiration. Put yourself on a better path by creating a lifestyle that lifts your spirits. Forge relationships with people who inspire you, and fill your physical space with idea boards including pictures and inspirational quotes that drive you to be your best.

5.Keep it simple. There are times when the end goal is prize enough, and that’s perfectly OK. If the reward itself is the motivator, seize it and push forward with all of your might.

Personal Styling Appointments recommended

TEACH KIDS TO MANAGE THEIR HEALTH CARE TIPS FOR PARENTS OF COLLEGE-AGE STUDENTS

By Rose Rossi For parents with college-age children, there’s a fairly standard set of basics that helps ensure their children are ready to tackle the world with some degree of independence. But beyond school supplies, housing, food and transportation, one important consideration remains: health care.

As a parent, ensuring your young adult is equipped to take charge of his own health can be a daunting task. That’s why it’s important to have a conversation with your college students about their local health service options before the need arises.

Together you can do some research and discuss the answers to these questions: What is your health coverage? Take time to brush up on (or introduce your child) to your family’s health insurance policy and understand how your policy covers various facilities. This is an opportunity to teach about co-pays and deductibles, and what it means when a physician or facility is considered innetwork and out-of-network.

Do you already pay to use the student health center? In some cases, student fees include access to the campus student health center and your separate health insurance may not be necessary. However, it’s important to understand what the student fee covers and where there may be gaps, such as dental care.

What are the local options for health care? You’ll rest easier with the assurance that the medical care available to your students is of the highest quality. Many colleges and universities take the extra step of achieving accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), the nation’s leading accreditor of student health 44

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services, to affirm that the care they provide is at nationally recognized standards. You can find accredited organizations at aaahc.org or inquire about accreditation at your university medical center.

Where is the student center located? Encourage your student to set up a well appointment at the student health clinic to get a file started. Not only will this ensure your child can find the center when need arises, having an established patient profile cuts down on paperwork when there’s an emergent health concern. This is particularly helpful for students with medical issues or restrictions because they can be logged in advance for easy recall.

Which other medical practitioners are in the area? There may be any number of reasons your student needs to be seen off campus, so it’s a smart idea to look for AAAHC accreditation when trying to assess the quality of nearby health care alternatives. Make a short list with office hours and phone numbers for future reference.

Where is the best local hospital? Devise an emergency plan for urgent needs and be sure your student knows how to get to the closest urgent care center and hospital, as well as when to use each one. If possible, visit the facilities in person so your child can get familiar with the facility and learn where to go and how to check in without the pressure of a crisis situation.

By approaching the topic of your college student’s health care together, you can help ensure your child has the information necessary to begin managing personal care. In the process, you can also be assured that you’re identifying health centers that share your commitment to the very best care for both the mind and body of your student.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images Health, Beauty & Fitness

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1

B AC K PA I N

101 By: Sheila M. Clancy MS, CHES Next to the common cold and flu, back pain is the number one reason people call out from work.

Back pain isn’t only the result of a back injury.

Improper exercise, sudden twists and turns, shoes, extra body weight and the natural aging process can all contribute to back pain. The real causes of most back problems are a combination of poor posture, faulty body mechanics, stressful living and working habits, loss of flexibility and a general decline in physical fitness.

Your back is made up of vertebrae, which provide you with structural support, and discs which sit in between the vertebrae and act as shock absorbers.

There are nerves that run through that area, and then there are many muscles that control your movements and ligaments that hold the bones together. It is a pretty intricate system and sometimes when you have back pain it’s not that clear what is going wrong and how to fix it.

If you actually experience a back injury, 46

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immediately stop what you are doing and ice the area. Ice is always the best treatment for a new injury. Rest from any strenuous activity while you are experiencing pain and see your doctor if the pain persists. Once the pain subsides start moving around and getting back to your routine. Years ago bed rest was recommended for back pain; now, we know that inactivity for a long period can actually make things worse. You need lots of circulation to keep the muscles pliable and to bring nutrients to the injury.

A lot of back pain can be caused by lifestyle issues. As we get older, we start to experience bone loss and muscle loss which in and of itself can make us more susceptible to injury. Sometimes we become less active and therefore we lose some of our aerobic conditioning.

Muscles need oxygen like engines need gas-the intravertebral discs and ligaments need a blood supply to stay healthy. Being overweight makes it harder for your frame to support your weight. Sitting all day can keep you stiff and it is twice as stressful to your back as standing. Wearing improper footwear can alter our posture and put undue pressure on different parts of the back. Faulty body mechanics, such as picking up something heavy without bending your knees can also lead to injury or back pain. While there are a lot of things that can cause our backs problems, there are steps you can take to keep your back strong and prevent injury.

Maintain good posture. Stand and sit up tall with your shoulders back.

2

Stretch every day; shoulder rolls, hamstring stretches, and standing twists are just a few recommended stretches to keep your back loose.

3

Don’t sit for long periods of time. Obviously if you have a desk job you will be sitting a lot, but try to stand up for 3 minutes every hour to loosen up and take the pressure off your back.

4

When moving an object that is on the floor, stand with your feet slightly apart and bend your hips and knees, trying not to hunch over. If you are standing and moving something big, it is always better to push it than pull it.

5

Don’t keep your wallet in your back pocket; it will cause your pelvis to tilt and it will throw off your body alignment, causing some muscles to overwork and tighten up.

6

If you have a job that requires you to stand, try to change positions and move around when possible. Try to put 1 foot up on a box for a minute or 2 and then switch feet. Shift your weight and keep a slight bend in your knees.

7

Try not to sleep flat on your stomach. If you sleep on your side, bend your knees slightly and place a pillow in between them to keep your body aligned properly. If you sleep on your back put a pillow under your knees.

8

Exercise! You don’t have to do any high impact activities; walking is a great place to start!

Back pain can be annoying in some instances and debilitating in others. Practice healthy back care as often as possible to avoid any pain and injury in your back!

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BRAIN FOOD

Three Ways Probiotics can Help your Brain Work Better

By Benjamin Becker

Probiotic bacteria, the same bacteria that live in our guts and keep them healthy, have recently shown in research that they can impact our mental health. While humans have used probiotics to flavor food and improve digestion for millennia, we’re just discovering how they can also affect our brains, from overall mood and attentiveness, to our ability to cope with stress and depression.

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1) Anxiety and Stress For the average person dealing with anxiety and stress, recent studies show that eating probiotics regularly might help us cope. Researchers boosted probiotic levels in the guts of human patients and found that it made them worry less about negative things, and focus more on the positive.

In a supporting rodent study, consuming Lactobacillus rhamnosus was associated with a reduction in anxietyrelated hormones and a decrease in activity in the part of the hippocampus associated with anxiety. To tie these human and rodent findings together, a team of researchers decided to simultaneously test probiotics in both rats and men. Both humans and rodents were fed diets containing Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum, two probiotic bacterial strains already shown to reduce stress-related stomach aches. The researchers found that probiotics reduced instances of stress-response behavior in the rats, and reduced anxiety, stress, depression, and anger in humans as measured in clinical psychological tests.

These exciting new findings have doctors thinking about how probiotics could be used for good. For instance, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often the tragic result of surviving a severe stress situation, like warfare or abuse. Some researchers are now wondering if balancing gut microbes with probiotics could reduce the risk of PTSD or even possibly help to treat it, along with traditional therapies. They hypothesize that probiotic treatment could shield people from the most severe effects of stress on the brain, and we might be able to foresee a day when soldiers are given probiotics before going out into combat.

2) Depression Probiotics might also be effective in treating depression. researchers have found that people with depression are more likely to have high amounts of specific bacterial strains in their guts. In three separate studies, researchers found elevated levels of Bacteroidales bacteria in depressed patients, regardless of their locations around the globe. Interestingly, Bacteroidales was a common link between patients suffering from major depressive disorder, depression, andchronic fatigue syndrome, which are quite different disorders.

While we can’t say for sure if Bacteroidales causes depression, or if depression causes this bacteria to collect, research seems to support the idea that a diet including probiotics can help shift the balance from undesirable to desirable bacteria in your gut, thus promoting a more

positive mood. For example, in a recent study of women who ate probiotic yogurt containngBifidobacterium Lactis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactococcus lactis for 4 weeks, all probiotic-treated patients showed an increase in brain activity related to positive mood and energy, while women who ate the placebo yogurt didn’t see any mood-related benefits. That’s food for thought.

3) ADHD Risk in Children Lastly, researchers have also begun to examine our diet’s effect on attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD), and the way that our developing digestive systems impact our developing brains. Very little research has been done, but one 13-year trial shows a lot of promise. In the study, early treatment with probiotics seems to have significantly reduced the risk of ADHD in children. Doctors gave probiotics to one group of infants for the first 6 months of their lives, and gave no treatment to the other group. Then, after waiting for the kids to reach puberty, the researchers were surprised to find that none of the children treated with probiotics during the first 6 months of life developed ADHD, whereas 17.1% of untreated children did. More research needs to be done, but these tests point to evidence that the formation of beneficial bacterial colonies in the developing gut can have lifelong effects.

We Still Have a Lot to Learn While we’ve made some though-provoking revelations about probiotics effect on mental health, researchers caution that there are still many gaps in our understanding. We don’t even really know why they work on our brains, or how. Probiotics show a lot of promise in improving mental and emotional function, but haven’t been tested with the same rigor that’s required of prescription medications. That means if your doctor prescribed medications for you specifically, you shouldn’t stop taking them in lieu of unproven probiotics. As always, be sure to discuss your supplement considerations with your doctor first. More importantly, if you think you might be struggling with depression or anxiety, please reach out to a doctor or a friend and never attempt to selfmedicate.

Benjamin Becker is a medical expert for Labdoor, an online and mobile app resource providing research and insight for a variety of medical topics. Find out more at labdoor.com Health, Beauty & Fitness

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The Magnesium Myth Does Mg boost testosterone levels and improve athletic performance?

By Benita Lee Internet rumors suggest that magnesium is an impressive testosterone booster, especially for body-builders, but do research findings hold up to the hype? Studies show that supplementing with magnesium may not be all that effective aside from treating a magnesium deficiency.

Testosterone’s Effects on Muscle We know from extensive research that testosterone is an anabolic hormone, namely, one that helps maintain muscle integrity instead of breaking it down. On a molecular level, testosterone activates satellite cells, which eventually turn into myoblast cells that generate muscle fibers. It also seems to inhibit fat synthesis. In studies on adult men who had low testosterone levels, subjects showed significantly reduced lean body mass compared to subjects with normal testosterone levels. For athletes who depend on muscle growth and maintenance, testosterone’s effects are highly coveted.

However, long-term studies have shown that anabolic steroid use can lead to cardiovascular, reproductive, liver, and brain damage over time.

Magnesium and Testosterone Current marketing claims have tagged magnesium as a “natural” way of reaping the benefits of high testosterone without the concomitant risks of steroid abuse. While “natural” does not necessarily equate to “safe”, in this case, magnesium may not have significant effects on testosterone at all.

Molecular Interactions Some research seems to show that magnesium may affect testosterone production and help free up testosterone so it can function. A study on rat testes found that moderate and high doses of magnesium enhanced the activity of two enzymes involved in making testosterone. Magnesium at high concentrations was also found to block testosterone from binding to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), a transport molecule that binds and inhibits testosterone’s functionality, thereby increasing free, bioavailable testosterone.

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Magnesium’s Effects on Testosterone Levels In terms of measureable increases in testosterone, supporting studies are few. So far, available studies show that if magnesium increases testosterone, it’s only minimally. An often-cited study on young athletes who took 10 mg/kg of magnesium sulfate 5 times a week for 4 weeks during training noted an increase in free testosterone after exhaustion compared to placebo. However, it’s unclear in the study whether the difference between the two groups could possibly be explained by a difference in testosterone levels at baseline. In a study on magnesium-deficient subjects, normalizing magnesium levels increased testosterone slightly, but the increase was not statistically significant.

Magnesium’s Effects on Athletic Performance Research on whether magnesium’s minor effects on testosterone improve athletic performance is also limited and conflicting. One study shows that a supplement consisting of 30 mg of zinc monomethionine aspartate, 450 mg magnesium aspartate, and 10.5 mg vitamin B6 combined with intense physical activity increased testosterone levels compared to placebo. The subjects given the supplements also showed increased muscle strength compared to placebo. However, a similar supplement formulation was used in another study that failed to find any benefits on testosterone status or performance.

Some researchers seem to think that differences in study findings are due to unstandardized methods for measuring testosterone. Essentially, researchers don’t agree on what form of testosterone is the best indicator for overall testosterone activity.

Even if we remove testosterone from the equation, though, and just look at magnesium and athletic performance, research is still inconsistent. In a review of 12 different studies, 5 showed no positive effects of magnesium on performance, even with doses of up to 500 mg of magnesium per day for 3 weeks. A study of 24 young swimmers with what the researchers deemed were adequate magnesium levels showed no change in 100 m and 400 m freestyle times after 3 months of 486 mg of magnesium per day. In contrast, another study on swimmers Health, Beauty & Fitness

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suggested that there was a direct relationship between magnesium intake and 100 m freestyle times. To add to the confusion, those studies showing positive results tended to involve subjects who were magnesium-deficient, but this was not always the case.

Magnesium research suffers similar limitations to testosterone research. In the review of 12 studies, 6 did not account for initial magnesium status of the subjects before the studies began and the other 6 measured “total serum magnesium”.

Magnesium is mostly stored inside our bones and soft tissue cells, so serum magnesium measurements may not be a reliable indicator of our total magnesium load. In some cases, studies did not measure initial magnesium status at all. This means that from these studies, we can’t know if magnesium is really adding any benefits or if magnesium supplementation is simply correcting a deficiency.

Magnesium Deficiency in Athletes With all this talk about inconclusive research, we do know that magnesium deficiency is common in athletes and can affect muscle strength. In this sense, magnesium supplementation might be a good option for improving athletic performance in a significant number of athletes.

Surveys seem to show that magnesium intake in physically active individuals can be low. Established values for recommended magnesium intake include the daily RDA (recommended dietary allowance) – 350 mg for men and 280 mg for women – and DRI (dietary reference intake) – 400 mg for men and 310 mg for women. Young adults who engage in exercise have been found to have an average magnesium intake of 71% of the RDA. In a study on male and female collegiate athletes, magnesium intake was 70% of the DRI on average.

One study on athletes competing in sports requiring weight classifications found that magnesium consumption could be as low at 30% of the RDA. On top of inadequate magnesium intake, exercise can affect serum magnesium levels. Intense and long-term exercise has been shown to reduce serum magnesium levels, leading to quicker fatigue and decreased endurance. Magnesium itself is required to sustain exercise and participates in mechanisms that lead to muscle contraction. Magnesium can be a limiting factor in athletic performance, and low levels can lead to inefficient oxygen use, muscle weakness, and muscle spasms.

Magnesium supplementation in magnesium-deficient individuals can have profound effects on aerobic and anaerobic abilities. Just 25 days of 390 mg of magnesium per day was able to significantly improve oxygen uptake and work output in a study of magnesium-deficient male athletes. In collegiate athletes, magnesium supplementation was able to improve endurance performance. And young men taking more than 250 mg of magnesium per day during a 7-week strengthtraining program improved muscle strength and power. At a 52

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physiological level, magnesium supplementation can cause reductions in heart rate, ventilation, oxygen uptake, and carbon dioxide production during exercise, all factors indicative of increased work efficiency.

Note: 350 mg per day for adults is the established Tolerable Upper Intake Limit for magnesium supplements before adverse effects like nausea and vomiting begin. Very high doses can induce severe effects like difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest.

“Just 25 days of 390 mg of magnesium per day was able to significantly improve oxygen uptake and work output in a study of magnesium-deficient male athletes.”

Authorized Dealers Of Fine Watches

The Bottom Line Although research does not support the use of magnesium supplements to increase testosterone levels as a means of improving athletic performance, adequate magnesium levels are required for optimal muscle activity. Since magnesium deficiency is common and exercise tends to deplete the body of magnesium stores, athletes should consider investigating whether low magnesium levels are limiting their exercise results.

Benita Lee is a medical expert for Labdoor, an online and mobile app resource providing research and insight for a variety of medical topics. Find out more at labdoor.com.

58 East Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631 . 201-894-1825 www.thetimepiececollection.com Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/timepiececollection Health, Beauty & Fitness

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THE LITTLE MUSCLES THAT COULD The Mysterious Pelvic Muscles You Should Be Exercising

By Andrew Siegel, MD There are over 600 muscles in the human body and they all are there for good reasons. However, some are more critical to health and survival than others. In the class rank it is a no-brainer that the heart muscle is valedictorian, followed by the diaphragm. What may surprise you is that the pelvic floor muscles (a.k.a. Kegel muscles) rank in the top ten of the hierarchy.

The pelvic floor muscle group is a muscular hammock that makes up the floor of the “core” muscles. They are located in the nether regions and form the bottom of the pelvis. They are among the most versatile muscles in the body, equally essential in both women and men for the support of the pelvic organs, bladder and bowel control and sexual function. Unfortunately, because they are out of sight, they are frequently out of mind and often not considered when it comes to exercise and fitness.

However, without functional pelvic muscles, our pelvic organs would dangle and we would be diapered and asexual.

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Our bodies are comprised of a variety of muscle types: There are the glamour, for show, mirror-appeal, overt, seen and be witnessed muscles that offer no secrets—“what you see is what you get”—the biceps, triceps, pectorals, latissimus, quadriceps, etc.

Then there are muscles including the pelvic floor muscles that are shrouded in secrecy, hidden from view, concealed and covert, unseen and behind the scenes, unrecognized and misunderstood, favoring function over form. “Go” rather than “show.” Most of us can probably point out our “bi’s” (biceps), “tri’s” (triceps), “quads” (quadriceps), “pecs” (pectorals), etc., but who really knows where their “pelvs” (pelvic floor muscles) are located? For that matter, who even knows what they are and how they contribute to pelvic health?

Strong puritanical cultural roots influence our thoughts and feelings about our nether regions. Consequently, this area of our body—the “saddle” region (the part of the body in contact with a bicycle seat)—often fails to attain the respect and attention that other zones of our bodies command. Cloaking increases mystique, and so it is for these pelvic muscles, not only obscured by clothing, but also residing in that most curious of regions--an area concealed from view even when we are unclothed. Furthermore, the mystique is contributed to by the mysterious powers of the pelvic floor muscles, which straddle the gamut of being critical for what

may be considered the most pleasurable and refined of human pursuits—sex—but equally integral to what may be considered the basest of human activities—bowel and bladder function.

The deep pelvic floor muscles span from the pubic bone in front to the tailbone in the back, and from pelvic sidewall to pelvic sidewall, between the “sit” bones. The superficial pelvic floor muscles are situated under the surface of the external genitals and anus. The pelvic floor muscles are classified as stabilizers and compressors rather than movers (joint movement and locomotion), which is the more typical role that skeletal muscles such as these play.

Stabilizers support the pelvic organs, keeping them in proper position. Compressors act as sphincters—enveloping the urinary, gynecological and intestinal tracts, opening and closing to provide valvelike control. The superficial pelvic floor muscles act to compress the deep roots of the genitals, trapping blood within these structures and preparing the male and female sexual organs for sexual intercourse; additionally, they contract rhythmically at the time of sexual climax.

Although the pelvic floor muscles are not muscles of glamour, they are certainly muscles of “amour”!

Pelvic floor muscle “dysfunction” is a common condition referring to when the pelvic floor muscles are not functioning properly. It affects both women and men and can seriously impact the quality of one’s life. The condition can range from “low tone” to “high tone.”

Low tone occurs when muscles are capable of making the pelvic muscles lack in adaptive changes when strength and endurance targeted exercise is applied and is often associated with to them. Pelvic floor training stress urinary incontinence involves gaining facility (urinary leakage with with both the contracting coughing, sneezing, laughing, and the relaxing phases of exercising and pelvic muscle other physical P E L V I C F L O O R function. Their activities); structure and TRAINING pelvic organ function can INVOLVES prolapse be enhanced, G A I N I N G (when one or resulting F A C I L I T Y W I T H in broader, more of the female pelvic thicker and BOTH THE organs falls muscles C O N T R A C T I N G firmer into the space and the ability AND THE of the vagina to generate and at times a powerful RELAXING outside the contraction at PHASES OF vagina); and will—necessary altered sexual P E L V I C M U S C L E for pelvic FUNCTION. function, wellbeing. e.g., erectile Pelvic floor THEIR dysfunction S T R U C T U R E muscle or vaginal training can A N D F U N C T I O N be effective looseness.

CAN BE High tone in stabilizing, occurs when E N H A N C E D , improving the pelvic and even RESULTING floor muscles preventing I N B R O A D E R , issues with are overtensioned pelvic support, THICKER and unable to A N D F I R M E R sexual relax, giving function, and M U S C L E S A N D rise to a pain urinary and T H E A B I L I T Y bowel control. syndrome known as T O G E N E R A T E Pursuing pelvic pelvic floor A P O W E R F U L floor muscle tension training before C O N T R A C T I O N pregnancy will myalgia.

AT WILL— A first-line make carrying means of N E C E S S A R Y the pregnancy dealing with and F O R P E L V I C easier pelvic floor will facilitate W E L L B E I N G . labor and dysfunction is getting these delivery; it will muscles in also allow for tip-top shape. Tapping into the effortless resumption of and harnessing their energy the exercises in the postcan help optimize pelvic, partum period in order to sexual and urinary health in re-tone the vagina, as the both genders. Like other exercises were learned under skeletal muscles, the pelvic ideal circumstances, prior

to childbirth. Similarly, engaging in pelvic training before prostate cancer surgery will facilitate the resumption of urinary control and sexual function after surgery. Based upon solid exercise science, pelvic floor muscle training can help maintain pelvic integrity and optimal function well into old age.

Bottom Line: Although concealed from view, the pelvic floor muscles are extremely important muscles that deserve serious respect. These muscles are responsible for powerful and vital functions that can be significantly improved/ enhanced when intensified by training. It is never too late to begin pelvic floor muscle training exercises—so start now to optimize your pelvic, sexual, urinary, and bowel health.

Andrew Siegel MD is a urologist who practices in Maywood, NJ. Dr. Siegel is dual boardcertified in urology and female pelvic medicine/reconstructive surgery and serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School and attending urologist at Hackensack University Medical Center. He is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor New York Metro area and Top Doctor New Jersey. He is the author of THE KEGEL FIX: Recharging Female Pelvic, Sexual and Urinary Health (www.TheKegelFix.com) and MALE PELVIC FITNESS: Optimizing Sexual & Urinary Health (www.MalePelvicFitness. com).

Andrew Siegel, MD www.AndrewSiegelMD.com

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According to WHO scientists’ predictions, there will be as many as three to four million new infections in

VIRUS

the Americas this year, including in

SCARES

the southern United States.

HIGHLIGHT PHARMACEUTICALS, R E L AT E D I N D U S T R I E S

By Suzanne M. Akian In light of the growing health concerns surrounding the spread of the Zika virus, now might be a good time to ask: What are the investment implications for our state’s pharmaceutical industry?

Though it’s been around for years, the recent global outbreak of the Zika virus is alarming to many. In the United States, there are over 100 reported cases of travel-related infections and now dozens of new cases that are thought to be sexually transmitted. New Jersey officials have voiced their concern, especially after the World Health Organization (WHO) set off global warnings and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 56

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issued similar cautionary statements.

According to WHO scientists’ predictions, there will be as many as three to four million new infections in the Americas this year, including in the southern United States.

Recently, President Obama asked Congress for nearly $2 billion in emergency funding to aid in and expedite the development of a Zika vaccine. And as it did during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, the WHO pledged to accelerate the research process on new drugs. At the moment, there is no vaccine or cure.

As they did with Ebola, bird flu, swine flu, SARS and other outbreaks of deadly viruses that caused world health crises, American businesses and industry have a long history of addressing emerging needs and responding accordingly – and such could be the case now, especially in New Jersey, the home of more pharmaceutical and medical technology companies that any other state. Even a modest amount of research can identify those New Jersey companies leading the way in solving this and other major health problems.

Dealing with medical crises like Zika, and generating vaccines or curative drugs requires research, much of which the Garden State can provide. Researchers will need devices to handle, swab, test and dispose of bodily fluid samples. Other researchers will need specialized labs to study the mosquitos, a species of which are the carriers of the virus, themselves.

While more than 121,000 people were employed in New Jersey’s pharmaceuticals, biotech R&D and medical devices industries in 2013, that number may rise depending on the United States’ response to a given health crisis.

New Jersey, by any measurement, has a robust labor force with enough skilled workers to meet employers’ needs, which could boost not only the labor force and the economy, but an employer’s bottom line as well.

The potential reach of the resources needed to fight world health epidemics like Zika and other diseases is enormous.

Besides needing to develop and manufacture rapid diagnostic blood tests and viable vaccines, pharmaceutical companies

will need to offer medicines to work against the symptoms. In the case of Zika, that means acetaminophen recommended for treating fevers and ophthalmological drops for conjunctivitis.

But even before the development of a cure, there is the need for prevention – meaning producers of Environmental Protective Agency-registered insect repellants will be in a good position in future, as will companies that manufacture mosquito nets and perhaps even those that make fans and air conditioners, since they dispel mosquitos too.

The Zika scare reveals not only a serious and immediate need for responses to any deadly virus, but also highlights the potential for increased employment and perhaps even investment opportunities.

American industry and initiatives have always responded to challenges, whether social, medical or military, and it is clear that American know-how and inventiveness can respond when needed.

On an individual level, investors can make a global impact too, by embracing equities related to the battle against the Zika virus.

New Jersey is perfectly positioned to take up the challenge.

Suzanne M. Akian is a Financial Advisor with the Global Wealth Management Division of Morgan Stanley in New York, NY. She can be reached at 212-613-6773

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alaska salmon salad sandwiches Serves 4. Prep time: 15 minutes Ingredients:

You’ve probably heard that eating seafood rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids can help protect against heart disease while delivering other important nutrients. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends eating seafood twice a week for such benefits.

Salmon is one fish long-heralded for its nutritional value, and Alaska canned salmon offers a convenient way to add more deliciously nourishing seafood to your diet.

Whether your tastes lean toward a traditional croquette drizzled with a light dill sauce, or a refreshing take on a pesto pasta salad, canned salmon is easy to prepare and surprisingly versatile.

Canned and pouched salmon is shelf-stable, so you can always have some on hand for a quick, tasty meal or flavorful snack. At the grocery store, simply look for “Alaska” on the lid or label to ensure a top-quality, wholly natural product with nothing added but a pinch of salt for flavor.

1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked 1/3 cup light mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon capers, drained, chopped if large (optional) 1/3 cup finely diced celery 1/3 cup finely diced onion 1/4 cup dill or sweet pickle relish, drained 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 8 slices whole-grain bread 24 thin slices cucumber 4 leaves green or red leaf lettuce Dash Tabasco sauce or pinch of black pepper Directions: In medium bowl, combine salad ingredients. Add salmon and stir to combine well.

Divide salad among 4 slices of bread. Top each with 6 slices of cucumber and a leaf of lettuce. Top with remaining slices of bread and cut in half, crosswise.

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alaska salmon pesto pasta salad Serves 8 to 10. Prep time: 25 minutes Ingredients:

alaska salmon cakes with yogurt dill sauce Serves 4. Prep time: 21 minutes.

Ingredients: 1 egg ¼ cup small-curd nonfat cottage cheese 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning ¼ cup sliced green onions 1 can (14.75 ounces)

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traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked 3 tablespoons garlic-andherb bread crumbs Vegetable oil Yogurt Dill Sauce Yogurt Dill Sauce: ½ cup nonfat yogurt 1 ½ teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed ¼ cup grated cucumber (squeeze dry) Salt and pepper

Health, Beauty & Fitness

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Directions: In medium bowl, whisk egg lightly. Add cottage cheese, dill, lemon pepper and green onions; mix well. Mix in drained salmon, then sprinkle in bread crumbs and mix well. Shape mixture into 4 patties, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.

Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brush skillet with oil. Fry salmon cakes for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side. Cakes should be crisp and golden on the outside and still moist on the inside.

8 ounces dry, small shell pasta 2 to 3 teaspoons garlic, finely minced ½ cup prepared basil pesto ½ cup light Italian salad dressing 1 zucchini, cut in 1/2inch half-moon slices 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved 1 small red onion, thinly sliced ¾ cup frozen peas, defrosted 1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked Salt and pepper to taste

For Yogurt Dill Sauce: Mix yogurt and garlic, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in dill and cucumber. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.

Directions:

Serve with Yogurt Dill Sauce.

Cook zucchini in covered microwavable container on high 2 minutes or until just tender and bright green.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well. Let cool slightly then toss with garlic, pesto and dressing. Set aside.

Toss blanched zucchini, tomatoes, onion and peas into pasta and stir to combine. Gently fold in drained salmon; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill before serving.

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VISIT SALLAURETTA.COM

alaska salmon and chipotle wrap Serves 4. Prep time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped red onion 1 teaspoon chopped garlic Âź teaspoon salt Âź teaspoon pepper 1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked 3 tablespoons light cream cheese or light sour cream 1 teaspoon adobo sauce 4 whole wheat tortillas (8inch) 4 large lettuce or cabbage leaves, shredded Directions: In bowl, mix lime juice, chiles, cilantro, bell pepper, red onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Gently stir in salmon until blended.

In small bowl, blend cream cheese and adobo sauce. Spread 1/4 mixture over each tortilla to within 1 inch of edge. Spread 2/3 cup salmon mixture over cream cheese. Top with 1/4 of lettuce and roll up burrito-style. Repeat for remaining tortillas.

For appetizers, cut each wrap into thirds (makes 12 appetizer servings).

As a meal, cut each wrap in half (makes 4 entree servings).

Serve immediately.

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621 Godwin Avenue Midland Park, NJ 07432

(201)444-1666 Health, Beauty &sallauretta.com Fitness Fall 2016

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H

HIP AND PELVIS INJURIES IN ATHLETES

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ip pain is a common complaint that can be caused by a wide variety of problems. Frequently, the key feature to determining the cause of hip pain is understanding anatomy, as locating where the pain comes from can help in making the diagnosis.

The hip joint itself is located deep in the groin.

The area out to the side, which is what most people commonly refer to as their hip, is actually the edge of the hipbone, or femur, known as the greater trochanter. Over towards the back is the sacroiliac joint, and this is usually considered part of the lower back, or pelvis.

Your hips are strong and stable when healthy, but injury and certain conditions, like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, may affect the health of the hips.

Arthritis is among the most frequent causes of hip pain in athletes and non-athletes alike, and because arthritis affects the joint itself, arthritic pain is usually first felt in the groin. People with arthritis often have stiffness and tenderness in their hips.

This can make walking uncomfortable. When the arthritis is severe, sitting, standing and lying on that side can be problematic. High impact activities on an already arthritic hip that is asymptomatic may exacerbate the pain, causing a sudden onset of symptoms.

For athletes, playing sports, running, falling, heavy impact activities and overuse can lead to hip strains, hip pointers, hip bursitis and something called femoroacetabular impingement.

Bursas are small sacs of lubricating fluid located at various joints in the body. Particularly important in the elbow, shoulder, knee, heel and hip joints, these sacs act as shock absorbers and cushions between bones and tendons.

If the sacs become irritated or inflamed, the condition is called bursitis. Trochanteric bursitis is an extremely common problem that causes inflammation in the bursa over the outside of the hip. This pain takes place over the outside of the hip. Trochanteric bursitis can be very tender and can make it difficult to sleep on that side. Hip bursitis is the most commonly reported cause of hip pain, but it is more likely to affect middle-aged and older adults rather than younger athletes and exercisers, and women are more prone than men to experience it.

Snapping hip syndrome is a term used to describe three distinct hip problems. The first is when the IT band snaps over the outside of the thigh. The second occurs when the deep hip flexor snaps over the front of the hip joint. Finally, tears of the cartilage, or labrum, inside the hip socket can cause a snapping sensation. Snapping hip

SPORTS DR. syndrome is often caused by tight muscles and can be treated with rest from aggravating activities, appropriate stretching exercises and anti-inflammatory medications. Surgery is rarely necessary.

Labrum tears, or torn cartilage in the hip, are a cause of hip pain that we are learning more about as hip arthroscopy becomes more common. The acetabular labrum is a small band of tissue located along the rim of the socket of the hip joint. The labrum looks and feels like a rubber band. It acts as a cushion when the ball of the hip comes into contact with the cup in motion extremes.

The labrum can be torn by a twisting or slipping injury, or over time by repetitively compressing the labrum between the femoral head and cup. An athlete with a labral tear will usually complain of pain to the anterior groin. The pain is often worsened with certain motions, especially hip flexion. Sometimes a quick sharp pain or catching sensation can be felt with certain motions. As the condition worsens, pain can be felt when walking and sitting for long periods of time.

If a labral tear is suspected, physicians will usually order a special MRI of the hip, called an MRI arthrogram. Small labral tears can be treated with physical therapy, but larger tears usually require surgical treatment.

Femoroacetabular impingement is a condition in which abnormal bone growth causes bone spurs on both the femur and the acetabulum. The constant rubbing damages the articular cartilage on the round head of the femur and the labrum, the cartilage rim around the hip socket. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. For reasons not completely understood, some people develop excessive bone tissue at the top of the femur and around the edge of the hip socket. These people are not born with FAI. It appears to develop early in life as the person grows.

The movement that aggravates FAI is a forceful rotation of the core, including the hips. The longer that repetitive rotational movement occurs over a period of years, the more irritated the area becomes, the more pain can be felt because of bone to bone contact, and the more likely osteoarthritis will develop. When enough cartilage has been worn away from the top of the femur, the athlete will feel the pain.

FAI comes in two forms: cam and pincer. Most patients have a combination of the two. Cam impingement results from excess bone located at the neck (top) of the femur. Pincer impingement is caused by excessive bone tissue on the acetabulum/socket of the pelvis. If a physical therapy program is unsuccessful, removal of the spurs and repair of the damage can be successfully performed arthroscopically on an outpatient basis.

A hip pointer is one sports injury in which the athlete can probably make a diagnosis as quickly and accurately as a physician. You’ll know it has happened when you get hit or fall on your side, and the first thing that absorbs the blow is the outer part of what most people would call the hip bone, which is a misnomer. Actually, a hip pointer is a deep bruise, or contusion, on the top portion of the pelvis that can be felt on either side of the waistline. The distinguishing characteristic is hip pain, plain

and simple.

It’s not a career-ender, but it is a painful injury that can keep you out of action for days or weeks if you don’t take care of it or rush back into training or competition before it has healed. It is difficult to manage because the strong muscles that attach put constant stress on the area.

Muscle strains commonly cause pain and spasm around the hip and pelvis areas, predominantly in the groin and hamstring.

Hip flexor strains can range from mild to severe, or in medical terms, from first to third degree. A first degree hip flexor strain means one of the hip flexor muscles has been stretched or slightly torn. A second degree strain refers to a partial tear of the muscle or tendon, and in a third degree sprain, the muscle or tendon is completely severed—a rare event. When a tendon is pulled off the bone at the place where it is attached, it is called an avulsion fracture. Depending on the severity of the injury, recovery time ranges from a few days to months.

Fractures—either stress or acute—can occur in the hip area.

Stress fractures of the hip are most common in athletes who participate in impact sports, such as runners, and occur over time from overtraining. Acute hip fractures are often seen in elderly patients with osteoporosis. Treatment of broken hips usually requires surgery.

Many back and spine problems can cause symptoms around the buttocks and hip. The most common problems that refer pain to the hip region are herniated discs, sciatica and sacroiliac dysfunction.

A sports hernia is caused by a tear in the muscles of the lower abdomen where they attach to the pelvis, and can cause pain that initially feels like hip pain. Sports hernias are more common in male than female athletes. Athletes with a sports hernia usually complain of pain in the lower abdomen or groin. The pain increases with coughing, sneezing or quick motions (e.g., sprinting or sidestepping). X-rays and an MRI may be used to rule out other conditions. Initial treatment consists of resting from aggravating activities, ice, anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy.

Surgery is occasionally required when symptoms have failed to improve with extensive non-surgical treatment.

Any hip pain that persists more than a few days, keeps getting worse, starts to keep you awake or wakes you up, makes you limp or unable to walk is serious and should be seen by a doctor.

A sports medicine physician with a comprehensive joint and cartilage preservation program is probably your best bet. This way you’ll be able to take advantage of the most up-to-date nonsurgical and surgical methods to keep you in the game.

Dr. Michael Gross, the founder and director of Active Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, is the section chief of sports medicine and the orthopedic director of the Center for Sports Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, as well as medical director of Active Center for Health and Wellness.

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From Pre-Conception Genetics to High-Risk Pregnancies: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Maternal-Fetal Medicine Having a healthy baby is the greatest hope for both expectant mothers and those who wish to conceive. We recently had a conversation with Gail Matthews, M.D., Medical Director, MaternalFetal Medicine, about this medical specialty and which women can benefit from its services.

Q. What is Maternal-Fetal Medicine?

A. Maternal-Fetal Medicine is a subspecialty of obstetrics that specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care of expectant mothers and their unborn babies.

Q. Why see a maternal-fetal medicine specialist?

A. Women come to see one of our specialists for a variety of reasons.

For example, some women may be at an increased risk for complications during pregnancy after age 35, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or other medical conditions. Sometimes women are considered to have a high-risk pregnancy if they are carrying more than one fetus, experience preterm labor, or have a history of pregnancy-related complications. We also have women come to us to discuss genetic concerns and to establish availability and indications for genetic testing.

Q. What services do you offer?

A. We offer a wide range of services for both mothers and their unborn babies including, but not limited to, obstetrical ultrasound, antepartum fetal testing, first trimester prenatal aneuploidy screening, reproductive genetic counseling and genetic testing (including amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling as indicated). Throughout pregnancy, we specialize in the ongoing diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy-related conditions such as fetal growth concerns, cervical abnormalities, placenta problems, maternal hypertensive disease and pre-term labor.

“Back to living life.”

Q. Should all women speak to a genetic counselor?

A. We certainly recommend that women anticipating pregnancy, or who are already pregnant, speak with a genetic counselor. Review of personal and maternal/paternal family histories can be very informative and counseling can provide additional education and reassurance for our patient. The counselors can help women with questions about genetic concerns affecting their families.

Q. Why choose Valley’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Department?

A. Our department is a world-class diagnostic referral center, certified by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). We use the latest technology and most up to date information to serve our patients. Valley’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine team is both compassionate and highly skilled in providing specialized care for a wide range of maternal and fetal problems. In addition, physician specialists work collaboratively with the patients’ obstetrician or primary care physician to develop a plan of care designed to address the patient’s individual needs and particular medical history. The Valley Hospital’s Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine is proud to announce that we were the first in New Jersey to receive AIUM accreditation in fetal echocardiography, providing expert evaluation of suspected fetal heart anomalies.

Q. Who are the members of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine team?

A. In addition to myself as Medical Director, our physician team includes Traci C. Burgess, M.D., M.P.H., Claudia Mosquera,, M.D., Carolyn M. Zelop, M.D., and Jane Goldman, M.D. All of our physicians are certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and all maintain additional board certification in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Our multidisciplinary team of experts also includes ultrasonographers (all AIUM certified), certified genetic counselors and perinatal nurses who will provide you with the kind of accurate prenatal evaluations, fetal monitoring, and state-of-theart diagnostic procedures today’s high-risk pregnancies demand.

For more information about Maternal-Fetal Medicine at The Valley Hospital, or to make an appointment with a member of our medical staff, please call 201-291-6321. For patient-related questions, please call 201-447-8400.

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The Valley Institute for Brain Surgery routinely performs complicated neurosurgical procedures. On top of using the latest technology, our team focuses on protecting what’s important to each person. This helps us not only provide incredible results, but also amazing experiences. Here’s Amy’s story.

Amy was getting ready for one of the most exciting celebrations in her life — her son’s wedding. In the days leading up to the ceremony, she started getting intense headaches. The pain quickly spiraled and soon she was not able to perform everyday tasks like writing her name. Just three days before her son’s big day, Amy found out she had a lime-sized, benign brain tumor.

See how Valley saved what really mattered to Amy at MyStory.ValleyHealth.com.

Ridgewood and Paramus, New Jersey

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#1 HOSPITAL IN NEW JERSEY. HackensackUMC has again been named the #1 Hospital in New Jersey

by U.S. News & World Report — maintaining its place atop the NJ rankings since the rating system was introduced.

We are also ranked as the #4 Hospital in the NYC Metropolitan area.

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