Speed Bump

Happy May Day! It is the first day of May and, whatever that means to you, I hope it is a great one. As a child, I remember celebrating with May Day baskets at school. And when I lived in Italy, we celebrated European labor day by striking and not going to work (hey, when in Rome...). Now, I have a new tradition to celebrate this first day of May - exercise! The American Academy of Sports Medicine, the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, has declared May Exercise is Medicine TM month . Exercise is Medicine TM is a global initiative designed to make "levels of physical activity" a standard vital sign to be assessed in every patient visit with a physician. It is based on the idea that exercise is a powerful tool in the prevention of chronic disease and should be prescribed by physicians as both preventative medicine and a first line of treatment. Exercise is medicine. Think about it. Exercise has proven health benefits for...

Here is a post to help you enjoy an extra glass of wine this Thanksgiving. Salute! I love red wine. And I really love the idea that red wine might actually be good for me. Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably heard mention of the potential health benefits of red wine. Those health benefits are thought to be due to a compound found concentrated in grape skin called resveratrol. Despite all the hype and promise - the ability to protect against obesity and diabetes, to improve an individual's exercise capacity, and even to extend lifespan - the benefits of resveratrol have only been demonstrated in rats and mice. Until now. The first human study demonstrating positive health benefits of resveratrol was just published in the journal Cell Metabolism . This study, performed by a group from the Netherlands, appears promising. Eleven obese, but otherwise healthy, men were recruited to take either a placebo or resveratrol ...