Inside the FAB 50: WCAC toughest league? (from ESPNHS Boys Basketball)

If the FAB 50 rankings are any gauge of overall team strengths and competition, one high school league can just about claim the "best in the country" tag this season: the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

No less than three WCAC members are ranked among the top 29 teams entering this week's play. And the trio play each other twice in the regular season, including a showdown Tuesday night between No. 9 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and No. 28 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.).

Paul VI scored its second-straight win against a higher-ranked WCAC team with a 66-53 triumph over the Purple Eagles. Last weekend, Paul VI bested No. 29 ranked DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 64-62. DeMatha, which at one point this season was No. 5 in the FAB 50, also lost earlier this season to Gonzaga 76-74.

This league is just getting warmed up, too. Rematches remain for all three teams: Paul VI versus Gonzaga, Paul VI versus DeMatha; and Gonzaga versus DeMatha.

While Gonzaga now has two losses on the season to WCAC foes, it has wins against three non-WCAC teams that have been ranked in the FAB 50. That only further shows the conference’s strength this season.

The other WCAC members include St. John's (Washington, D.C.), which is the team with a win over Gonzaga; Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.); Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.); Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.); Good Counsel (Olney, Md.); and St. Mary’s Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.).

Weight Lifting Combats the Effects of Aging

When it comes to fitness, investing in a set of weights might pay dividends just as big as a pair of walking or running shoes, researchers say. Indeed, research has shown that weight training (often called resistance training) can slow and even reverse the declines in strength, bone density and muscle mass that accompany aging.
The American College of Sports Medicine's fitness guidelines now recommend weight training for people over 50 in addition to aerobic activity and stretching. Muscle fibers shrink in number and in size as you grow older. They also become less responsive to messages from the central nervous system. Together, these factors contribute to decreases in strength, balance and coordination.
"Generally, sedentary people lose about 10 percent of their lean muscle mass for each decade after age 30," says Edward R. Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and co-director of the Sports Medicine Center at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
"If you don't do anything to replace that, you're losing muscle and increasing fat," says Dr. Laskowski. "But, if you do strength training, you don't lose as much. It's like having a V-8 engine instead of a 4-cylinder. You have a bigger engine to burn more calories because it takes calories to keep that engine running."
Aerobic exercises like running, walking and bicycling strengthen your heart  also a muscle  by forcing it to adapt in a positive way. Similarly, weight training, done properly, challenges other muscles, forcing them to adapt to the stress and become stronger, according to Dr. Laskowski. Resistance training does more than just build muscle. It also can stimulate and strengthen bones  good news for those concerned about osteoporosis. Weight training also can help older people maintain their independence by keeping them strong enough to do routine tasks.
A University of Alabama at Birmingham study found that older women who lifted weights regularly during the study were able to carry bags of groceries with 36 percent less effort and to get up from their chairs with 40 percent less stress on their leg muscles than prior to the training. The 14 women in the study ranged in age from 60 to 77 and worked out for an hour, three times a week, for 16 weeks.
"No matter what your age, you can combat lean muscle loss by weight training," says Dr. Laskowski.
Copyright 1999, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

1 Weird Spice That Cures Diabetes

Warning: Dangerous Diabetes Drugs Don't Work How to Halt or Reverse Diabetes with Methods That Are Natural, Easy ... and Virtually Free

D iabetes is the number-one lifestyle disease of modern times, and tens of millions of Americans are being handed prescriptions for anti-diabetic drugs that don't work. A large-scale study at Duke University School of Medicine and published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that despite serious risks and dangerous side effects, diabetes drugs offer few benefits and simply don't live up to their claims    Duke researchers found that the combination of the blood-pressure drug Diovan (valsartan) and the anti-diabetes drug Starlix (nateglinide) failed to reduce risk of heart attack at all and that Diovan was only slightly successful in slowing -- but not necessarily preventing -- development of type 2 diabetes.    Furthermore, practically all anti-diabetic drugs result in weight gain and eventual total dependency upon insulin injections, according to researchers Krentz, Nichols, and Gomez-Caminero in 2 recent articles published in Current Medical Research Opinion and Diabetes Obesity Metabolism.    Lead researcher Robert Califf of the Duke study said, "This is a sobering confirmation of the need to continue to focus on lifestyle improvements."    Unfortunately, the medical mainstream has failed miserably to help diabetic patients reverse their diabetes naturally. This failure is inexcusable considering that anyone can reverse type 2 diabetes and stop type 1 diabetes in its tracks in less than 4 weeks with the right plan -- a plan that.... Gets your blood sugar under control in 4 weeks Stops type 1 diabetes Reverses type 2 diabetes Eliminates dependence on diabetes drugs Is so inexpensive that it's almost free Is simple and easy to use Has already helped patients and former diabetics all over the world Completely reverses your diabetes, pre-diabetes, syndrome X, and blood sugar woes    Unfortunately, very few diabetics know what actually does work. And that's because most doctors simply lack the necessary training and knowledge to steer their patients in the right direction.    Too many doctors don't even discuss nutrition with their patients, and those who do often make matters worse by advising overly restrictive diets or unrealistic amounts of exercise . A recent paper published by the Society for Biomedical Diabetes Research says, "Diabetic patients encounter . . . confusing and contradictory advice from a variety of sources."    As a result, diabetic patients "exhibit restrictive eating behaviors, they express feelings of dietary deprivation, and rigid dietary control is perceived as the only way to a proper diet and weight management. Binge eating, [excessive] restraint, and body dissatisfaction frequently occur among these patients."    So if you've tried and failed to manage your diabetes naturally, it's not your fault! Doctors and the media do more to confuse than to clarify, and meanwhile the diabetes freight train leaves a staggering path of heartbreaking consequences in its path, such as the following: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States. Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that at the rate things are going, as many as 1 in 3 U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050.    "These are alarming numbers that show how critical it is to change the course of type 2 diabetes," said Ann Albright, Ph.D., director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. "Successful programs to improve lifestyle choices on healthy eating and physical activity must be made more widely available, because the stakes are too high and the personal toll too devastating to fail."     The key phrase here is successful programs. To succeed you need to know exactly how to eat foods you love -- and feel satisfied, while still banishing diabetes. And you need to know about inexpensive supplements that help you slash your blood sugar effortlessly, such as . . . ==> The simple mineral that lowers diabetes risk. Researchers at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill conducted a 20-year study of 4,497 people and found that the risk of diabetes was 47% lower among participants with the highest intake of this mineral than among those with the lowest. ==> A well-loved spice that slashes blood sugar. Test subjects took as little as 1/4 teaspoon of this common spice daily, and nearly all subjects with diabetes showed substantial improvement. And the spice and diabetes were clearly connected because when the spice was no longer consumed, volunteers' blood sugar levels started to rise again.    Obviously, a spice and a mineral alone aren't going to single-handedly reverse your diabetes permanently, but such powerful supplements combined with the right effective, easy, and inexpensive natural methods can put you on your way to ending diabetes. No drug in the world can do that, no matter what Big Pharma promises. In fact, drugs are often worse than ineffective -- they can even make your life miserable or even be more risky than diabetes itself.    Consider the drug Avandia, once the most popular diabetes drug in the world, which was found in 2008 to dramatically increase risk of heart attacks and death. It took the FDA until last month to finally pull Avandia from the U.S. market.    Another popular diabetes drug, Actos, has its own array of ugly side effects, including average weight gain of nearly 9 pounds and a higher risk of dangerous and possibly deadly fluid buildups. Furthermore, Actos's heart risks may be almost as bad as Avandia's, and some researchers have linked this drug to bladder cancer.    A handful of doctors are getting behind the push to educate patients about what really works to cure diabetes. Dr. Scott Saunders. M.D., says natural approaches are the key. "Studying natural medicine is power," he says, explaining that you can absolutely reverse your diabetes yourself with simple steps that ... Are fast, painless, safe, and natural Based on proven home remedies Have zero negative side effects Will help you save thousands of dollars in medical bills, drugs, and hospital stays Will free you from stress and fear of diabetic symptoms Can halt the degenerative side effects of diabetes Are safe for type 1 & type 2 diabetes Will improve your overall health and immune system    If you suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes, you cannot afford to ignore the truth about how to stop this dangerous degenerative disease. Diabetes can kill you ... if you let it.    But the good news is you don't have to let that happen. And you don't have to fear blindness, heart disease, chronic wounds that won't heal, or even amputation. And you definitely don't have to rely on expensive, dangerous drugs that don't work! You can reverse your diabetes in less than a month when you watch a free, informative video , and see how to fix the real cause of your diabetes ... using natural, safe, and easy methods that are virtually free.    Now you can empower yourself with cutting edge information on healing yourself or your loved ones of diabetes. Watch this free video and learn to halt or reverse your diabetes.

The latest high tech prostate cancer treatment

You Can Now Treat Prostate Cancer with the Most Expensive Medical Device in the History of the World     If you've heard that proton therapy is the magic bullet for prostate cancer, be warned: There's a lot of money tied up in this therapy, but not a lot of research. That's a scary combination for any health treatment. Let's look at the facts. . . Continued below. . . Toxic chemical condemned 8 men to die of prostate cancer . . .but one of them escaped. [Search "Don't Touch My Prostate"] Here's how he did it!     John S. watched helplessly as 7 of his Vietnam platoon buddies died of prostate cancer, one by one. They were exposed to chemicals during the war that caused them to get cancer when they reached middle age. Then, in 2002, John found out it was his turn. He got opinions from three different doctors and they all told him the same thing: he'd need a miracle to survive.     John found the miracle he needed. Four years after his diagnosis, he told us, "I am healthy and happy with no symptoms of the disease." He actually wishes he'd gotten the disease sooner so he could have told his Army buddies this secret. It might have saved their lives.     We're ALL exposed every day to chemicals similar to the ones that killed these veterans. A man is just about certain to get prostate cancer if he lives long enough. That means John's life-saving secret is big news for men everywhere. Click here [Search "Don't Touch My Prostate"] and keep reading. . . This treatment definitely has some advantages     Proton therapy isn't even a new breakthrough, although the public didn't get interested till recently.     The therapy was initially prompted by Dr. James Slater of Massachusetts General, who first started harvesting protons from a Harvard cyclotron in the early 1960s. Dr. Slater had been disheartened by the side effects of radiation treatment (using X-rays) and has since devoted most of his professional life to bringing proton-based treatments to medical facilities.     Proton therapy itself is fairly simple. It uses a beam of protons to inject a tumor with radiation. Protons are one of the three main particles that make up atoms (the other two are electrons and neutrons). Protons have a positive charge while electrons have a negative charge.     Like X-rays, protons wreck the genetic makeup of a tumor. More importantly, proton therapy is much more precise than other radiation therapies, but without the side effects.     For example, when a patient undergoes X-ray treatment, tissues surrounding the tumor site are easily destroyed. The side-effects and resulting sickness can be overwhelming.     But in proton therapy, the stream of charged particles can be tailored to the contours of the tumor, without affecting any tissues except the tumor.     Unfortunately (and like too many things in the medical industry), proton therapy suffers from a money bias. Construction costs for a proton-beam generator can top $200 million, making it the most expensive medical device ever invented.     One of the reasons the treatment is so expensive is that protons aren't exactly easy to harvest. For proton therapy, protons must be stripped from hydrogen atoms and then moved into a stream that is nearly as fast as the speed of light.     The device that makes this possible weighs around 220 tons and must be housed in a structure at least the size of a football field. So, beyond the cost of the machine itself come considerable construction expenses for any hospital toying with the idea of offering this treatment. But here's the worst problem of all. . .     Proton therapy involves spending a stupefying amount of money on something that doesn't necessarily work better than other prostate cancer treatments. Anthony Zietman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and past president of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, has gone on record saying proton therapy is a very good treatment for prostates, but "It just doesn't appear to be superior treatment."     In the world of peer-reviewed journals, they won't be able to say whether proton therapy deserves all the rave reviews it's gotten until somebody puts together a decade-long, randomized trial to see which treatments have the best outcome overall.     In the meantime, the Internet has become a serious hindrance to spreading accurate information about this treatment. Loads of blogs and websites run by men who had success with their own proton treatment laud the benefits of proton therapy. I don't deny that they have good intentions. Many of these enthusiastic Internet writers feel proton therapy was the best and only cure for their prostate cancers.     Plus, men love the fact that's it's non-invasive. Who wouldn't? After all, few things shake a man's pride like the idea of losing bladder function or becoming impotent. A man's well-being after conventional radiation or surgery can be very poor indeed.     But the buzz reminds me of prime-time commercials from the pharmaceutical industry (although more honest, I hope). When you see a commercial for the latest and greatest pill, featuring happy people evangelizing a drug, it's hard not to wonder if it might work for you.     Just remember, the bloggers are comparing proton therapy to conventional radiation and surgery. To be fair, it IS an improvement — a very expensive one. But why go there at all?     The problem in this case is that too many websites are written by guys who aren't aware of the costs-versus-benefits of this treatment, much less the benefits of alternative cancer treatments. They're excited by the high-level technology — the ultimate power tool for guys — and they give false hope to millions of men searching the Internet for legitimate answers.     The bias for proton therapy technology continues to grow with time, making it hard to put together any kind of a reliable study on outcomes. Researchers are finding that men who went in thinking proton treatment was superior, who then have unexpected and unnecessary side effects, still advocate proton therapy as the best choice they could have made.     Marketers call it "post-purchase dissonance." When people have made an important choice, they have to convince themselves they did the right thing. If the purchase is a let-down, some people go into denial and still insist they made a good choice.     And remember, as with most medical therapies these days, the advice you get from doctors is subject to a ton of bias. Dr. Zietman, while being interviewed for an article in Men's Health last year, said, "In the absence of knowledge, anything goes. Surgeons recommend their favorite surgery. Radiation oncologists recommend their favorite form of radiation."     It follows that oncologists smitten with cool technology — and with making money — recommend proton therapy. Money-driven healthcare, the vampire that's sucking the life out of our country     What's obvious here is that the least expensive option for treating early-stage prostate cancer rarely gets lip service from the experts. Officially, it's called "active surveillance." You may know it as "watchful waiting."     Watchful waiting boils down to closely monitoring a patient and watching for any signs of growth in his cancer. If there's no growth, there's no treatment. If there is growth, the patient gets treated. Most prostate tumors are slow-growing. There's no pressing need to take action. And there are dozens of safe nutrients, foods and herbal remedies a man can use to control or eliminate prostate tumors without resorting to radiation, chemotherapy and surgery at all. I gave readers my take on all this in my Special Report, Don't Touch My Prostate.     Proton treatment sounds to me like technology-driven medicine gone crazy. Frightened people with cancer are willing to buy into any kind of nonsense recommended by the men in white coats, and of course we all get handed the bill.     Medical care is the single biggest expense driving the country into bankruptcy and potential social and political collapse. Meanwhile, to the doctors and industrialists meting out the treatments, there are massive profits to be had treating prostate cancer with protons.     Proton therapy isn't worthless. Far from it. It actually shows more reliable promise for treating brain, eye, and spinal cord tumors, as well as certain kinds of tumors in children.     But treating something like childhood cancers requires multiple, lengthy sessions and insurance companies are loath to cover it.     Prostate patients, on the other hand, are in and out in 20 minutes and need fewer total treatments. Medicare and most insurance companies cover the cost without hassle. And there are a lot of prostate cancer cases to funnel through the system.     It's healthcare dictated by money, which is the worst kind.     I should point out that even with the heavy emphasis on proton therapy as a miracle cure, it's hard to come by. Only 1% of radiation oncologists in the U.S. have experience in proton therapy. And right now, there are only nine proton centers in operation (though eight more are in development, which shows how the medical industry is responding to demand). Sometimes the best healthcare means bucking the trends     Conclusive studies are a long way off. But for now, the best information we can find is that proton treatment is not much better than standard radiation treatment — just more expensive and more techno-fancy.     I admit, it's hard to beat claims like those made by Loma Linda Medical Center on their website's "Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer" page: "More accurate, non-invasive, painless, provided in an outpatient setting, little impact on energy level, and requires no recovery."     But don't be so sure it's a good choice. There are many, many easy alternative treatments I'd try first.

The Secret of People Who Don't Get Cancer

The secret to curing cancer:

You've been throwing it in the trash!

    In 1921, a British doctor discovered that a remote tribal people was almost totally cancer-free. But when members of this tribe move away from their native land and change their diet, they get cancer just like anyone else.

    It's all thanks to a food most of us throw away as waste!

    Click here now and watch a new video presentation about this cancer breakthrough Go To "Cancer Step Outside The Box".

    One cancer expert calls this overlooked food "the key to curing AND preventing cancer" — and you can benefit NOW -- without going to a doctor or buying expensive supplements.

    This little throwaway food tastes great. Bill Clinton (of all people) eats it regularly, and so can you.

    Click here now to watch the video Go To "Cancer Step Outside The Box"!

Finley, Bailey and Harper Lead Bowie State at Penn State Invitational

(UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.)  Competing in their fourth indoor meet of the season, a select group of Bowie State University women and men student-athletes participated in the Penn State Invitational.  Of those participating, sophomore Brelyn Finley led the Lady Bulldogs and junior William Bailey along with sophomore Jonathan Harper were tops for the Bulldogs. 

Finley placed 8th overall in the women's Shot Put with a throw of 13.55m.  On the men's side, Bailey placed 3rd in the Long Jump (7.22m) while Harper finished 7th and 14th respectively in the High Jump (2.05m) and Triple Jump (14.07m).

Lady Bulldog juniors Shayla Davis and Indya Price also participated in the Invitational.  Davis placed 29th in the women's 400 Meter Dash with a time of 59.01 and Price finished 33rd in the 200 Meter Dash with a time of 26.04.

Even though their were no team results, the BSU women's 4x400 Meter Relay Team finished 19th, crossing the finish line with a time of 3:59.75.

Other individual men's highlights include a 17th place finish by sophomore Bryan Williams in the Triple Jump (13.66m).  Fellow sophomore Dana Smothers participated in the 200 Meter Dash and finished 28th with a time of 23.13.  Bowie State's men also participated in the 4x400 Meter Relay, placing 16th overall with a time of 3:23.78.

The Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs return to competition February 3rd and 4th at the New Balance Invitational in New York City.

Go Green With Tea?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Already lauded as a powerful antioxidant, green tea extract may also help dieters shed fat, say researchers reporting in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The extract may also be a safe improvement on traditional diet drugs because its benefits are "not accompanied by an increase in heart rate," write Dr. Abdul Dulloo, of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and colleagues. As part of their study, the investigators measured the 24-hour energy expenditure of 10 healthy men receiving three doses of caffeine (50 mg), green tea extract (containing 50 mg caffeine and 90 mg epigallocatechin), or a 'dummy' placebo per day. The study authors report that, compared with placebo, treatment with green tea was associated with a "significant increase" (+4%) in daily energy expenditure. This effect was not linked to the relatively small amounts of caffeine found in tea, since subjects receiving amounts of caffeine similar to those found in green tea displayed no change in daily energy output. Dulloo's team points out that "there are only two ways to treat obesity: reduce energy intake (i.e., dieting), or increase energy expenditure." According to their analysis, green tea extract seems to perform the latter function, although the mechanisms behind its action remain unclear. The investigators note, however, that green tea extract contains a high amount of catechin polyphenols. These compounds may work with other chemicals to increase levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, where the body burns fuel such as fat to create heat. "Stimulation of thermogenesis and fat oxidation by the green tea extract" did not raise subjects' heart rates, the researchers note. This may render green tea superior to stimulant diet drugs, which can have adverse cardiac effects, especially in "obese individuals with hypertension and other cardiovascular complications."

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