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Radiesse Dermal Filler Combined with Botox and Restylane
Combinations and Complex Dermal Filler Treatments
In many cases just a single product may not offer you the best results. For example, if you have some really heavy, deep lines running from your nose to your mouth with lots of little surface wrinkles in the area, you might benefit from a combination of Radiesse and Restylane (or other superficial fillers). The Radiesse is injected at a lower level (beneath the skin) to treat deep lines while the Restylane helps reduce superficial wrinkles.
Combinations can also be used to help increase longevity. Adding BOTOX to a filler treatment can keep wrinkles away or lips plump for a longer time than fillers alone. Injecting Restylane over an area that has been treated with BOTOX could increase the lasting power an extra three months or more since the relaxed muscle is not acting on the injected Restylane and wearing it away faster.
Get More Benefit With Less Exercise
written by Joseph G. Jacko, M.D.
It’s been said that life is a marathon. Well, if that’s true life is a marathon comprised of short bursts of activity. Have you ever noticed how kids play or how animals play in the wild? It’s stop and go activity. Exert and catch your breath, and then exert some more. That’s exactly what our ancient ancestors did while hunting for food and escaping from becoming an animal’s prey.
This intermittent burst of activity at or near maximum effort seems to be the natural way to play and physically use the body. But as we get older we get away from stop and go intermittent activity and gravitate toward steady pace exercise we now call aerobics.
Though aerobics certainly improves cardiovascular fitness and can assist in losing fat, it does not provide much benefit beyond that. And, to get those health benefits typically takes at least 30 minutes of exercise each session.
Emerging research is showing that similar, if not better, results can be obtained from exercising for shorter durations, but at higher intensities in the form of high intensity interval training or HIIT.
Studies are showing that high intensity interval training is better than aerobic exercises at improving metabolism, insulin sensitivity, growth hormone and testosterone release, and nitric oxide production. To achieve these benefits exercise must be performed at least at 85% to 90% of heart rate maximum.
Metabolism
Compared to aerobics, HIIT is associated with a higher EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means a better after burn. Metabolism stays elevated longer following a bout of HIIT versus aerobic exercise. This means that more calories are burned following an exercise session of HIIT compared to aerobics. Fat burning effects following HIIT have been shown to persist for up to 24 hours after the exercise is stopped. This is vital since we spend most of our time not engaged in exercise. Therefore, it’s more important to burn more calories at rest above baseline than during exercise and that’s exactly what HIIT achieves.
Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin resistance is a muscle problem and improving cellular metabolism of the muscle cells will improve insulin sensitivity. High intensity interval training induces better metabolic adaptations at the cellular level than does aerobic exercise. Human studies show that HIIT is associated with a better improvement in VO2max and a better reduction in risk factors related to metabolic syndrome.
Increased Growth Hormone and Testosterone Release
Growth hormone is a healing hormone in adults and also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy body composition. Studies of growth hormone replacement in adults with growth hormone deficiency consistently show a decrease in body fat and an increase in lean body mass.
The hormonal response to exercise differs greatly between standard aerobic exercise and HIIT. Cortisol is released in response to both lower intensity aerobics and HIIT. But, HIIT also provokes release of testosterone and growth hormone. This explains why endurance athletes are frequently gaunt and wiry, while sprinters are more muscular and have lower body fat percentages.
Improved Nitric Oxide Production
Nitric oxide production is synonymous with endothelial health. But, nitric oxide also enhances the immune system and is a chemical mediator for many biochemical reactions. Nitric oxide is produced in response to shear stress of blood flow against the arterial walls. To stimulate the endothelium to product nitric oxide, at least moderate intensity exercise must be performed. Increased nitric oxide production is not seen if the intensity is too low. Most studies on endothelial function have looked only at moderate intensity aerobics, but a study by Tjonna et al. comparing HIIT at 90% of maxHR versus continuous moderate intensity aerobics at 70% of maxHR showed a better improvement in VO2max and endothelial function in the HIIT group.
Combat Oxidative Stress with Protandim
- Protandim is a supplement that combats oxidative stress through Nrf2 activation.
- Oxidative stress happens in everyone.
- Protandim significantly reduces oxidative stress through Nrf2 activation.
- Nrf2 regulates survival genes.
Oxidative stress, generated through the process of living life (eating, sleeping, breathing, exercising), is inevitable for everyone, but LifeVantage has the solution: Protandim, the Nrf2 Synergizer, the most important dietary supplement of our time.
Comprised of natural plant ingredients, Protandim is a patented, science-based, research-backed formula that has been researched, tested and validated by renowned universities and institutions–the only supplement clinically proven to reduce oxidative stress by an average of 40 percent in 30 days.
Protandim activates Nrf2, which communicates with cells, instructing them to do what they’re already designed to do: up-regulate “survival genes,” genes that enable cells to survive in the face of stress from free radicals and other oxidants, and down-regulates other genes that promote inflammation and fibrosis to help the body function at an optimal level.
For more information, contact us.
Fun Fireworks Facts
Because we can never get enough “fireworks” talk around the Fourth of July, here are some interesting fireworks facts to enjoy and share with your friends and family:
- Macy’s department store in New York City claims to hold the world’s largest fireworks display. Every year at 9 p.m. on July 4, four barges in the East River, set just between 23rd and 42nd streets, set off 20,000 aerial shells and special effects. The New York Fire Department also operates “fire boats” on the river that shoot red, clear and blue water 300 feet into the air.
- This American tradition has much older roots than most people know, but actually didn’t originate in America at all. In fact, it’s said that the first fireworks came from China in the 800s, when bamboo shoots were filled with gunpowder and set off at the New Year to ward off evil spirits.
- In 2008, Americans used over 213 million pounds of fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) — about 186 million pounds were used by consumers, and 27 million pounds for displays.
- The U.S. fireworks industry brought in $940 million in revenues in 2008, up from $350 million in 1997, according to APA.
- The legal limit of explosive material allowed in a consumer firework is 50 mg (about the size of half an aspirin tablet), according to APA. Any item containing more than 50 mg is illegal.
- The dazzling displays of color during fireworks occur because of different chemicals added to the gunpowder. According to APA, the marks of an expert pyrotechnician are deep blues and white bursts … so keep an eye out for those during your Fourth of July fireworks show!
Too Much Vitamin D Can Be Dangerous
You’re probably aware that the news about vitamin D3 — the superhero of nutrients, able to bolster bones and battle everything from heart disease to cancer — just keeps getting better. But glowing reports aren’t the whole story. And like repeat rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the county fair, more isn’t always better. In fact, too much D may be dangerous.
Haven’t heard much about overdoing D? You’re not alone. In the upbeat mania, overdoing is getting overlooked. Although D is too crucial to run low on (and many people are low), it takes some finessing to get the best results. This update’s for you . . .
- If you don’t take any vitamin D
- If you take more than 1,000 to 2,000 international units (IU) daily on your own
- If you’re considering the megadoses (as much as 100,000 IU a week) touted on the Internet
- If you’re about to plunk down cash for a vitamin D blood test that’s not from a doc (the tests can be flukey, so get ’em from a reliable, consistent source)
Time to get this right! First, we believe it’s vital for you to get enough vitamin D3 (more about D3 ahead). If you’re chronically short, your risk goes up for a passel of nastiness: several cancers (including breast, colon, and ovarian), heart disease, osteoporosis, asthma, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and high blood pressure. New studies are also turning up links between low D and obesity in kids, injuries among pro football players, digestive diseases, pneumonia, and anemia.
On the upside, researchers have recently found that having healthy amounts of D3 relaxes your blood vessels, helps bone-building drugs work better, makes weight loss faster and easier, and even transforms slow sperm into speedy swimmers (think dog paddlers versus Michael Phelps).
That’s cool. But popping lots of D isn’t your next move. As we said, while enough is great, too much ain’t. Taking more than 10,000 IU per day, for example, might make you absorb too much D and too much calcium, causing kidney damage. (Dialysis anyone? We thought not.) And although enough D helps bones, older women who took gigantic 550,000 IU doses every fall or winter for 3 to 5 years in one study had more fractures and more falls than those who got no extra D. Same goes for blood vessels: Too much not only nixes benefits, it stiffens your arteries.
Why can excess D double cross you? Big doses seem to steal calcium from your bones and spew it into your bloodstream, interfering with muscle function and putting your arteries and kidneys in peril.
By now we bet you’re saying, “Okay, docs, what’s too little, what’s too much, what’s just right?” Coming up.
Aim for 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day. Total. Include what’s in your multi, your calcium-D3- magnesium tablet, your D-fortified milk or other fortified foods. Yes, we’ve seen the Internet buzz about taking super-high doses on your own. Don’t do it. The Institute of Medicine says over 4,000 IU per day can be harmful; we say don’t go over 2,000 IU without talking with your doc. Superpills packing 10,000 IU should only be taken under medical supervision, usually by those who don’t absorb it well or who need a special regimen.
Here’s how to close your personal vitamin D gap.
Take D3, not plain D. It’s the most active form of the vitamin and the type your skin makes naturally when it’s exposed to sunlight for 15 minutes or so.
Get a blood test for D if . . . you’re dark skinned; you’re elderly; you always wear sunscreen and a hat outdoors (smart moves otherwise); you’re obese (D stored in fat is less bioavailable); you have trouble digesting fats; or you live north of Atlanta, Georgia — during winter, the sun’s rays above there simply aren’t strong enough for you to create enough D.
What’s low? We consider D low when it’s below 50 ng/mL. While there’s little consensus on what’s definitively healthy or too high, there’s evidence that D’s dark side starts appearing above 80 ng/mL. Levels over 500 are toxic. Remember that D blood tests (about $35 to $40 from your doc) can give inconsistent results; recheck ultra-low or -high results.