Focus on Players' Health

Diet is key to long term health

2007-03-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is so profound and everyone needs to know this. This is confirmation of the Hallelujah diet which is really just a new way of eating.

Just sharing. . .

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will       strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and    complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt     has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's amino or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened Soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little, if you must, chicken, rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins,  minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT)

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL, U S - PLEASE READ

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.

This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastic releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.
DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING, WORK LIKE YOU DON'T NEED THE MONEY AND LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER BEEN HURT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
Sara H. Stewart~

David E. Garnett
President
iAM Solutions, LLC
703.926-9134 - mobile

Walls donates kidney to ex-teammate Springs

2007-03-02T05:20:00.000-08:00

Associated Press
March 1, 2007

DALLAS (AP) - Ron Springs and Everson Walls will always share a bond
forged over their years as teammates on the Dallas Cowboys. That's
nothing compared to their newest link - the kidney Walls donated to
Springs.

Springs and Walls were recovering at Medical City Hospital on
Thursday, a day after the transplant operation - the first between two
former U.S. professional athletes.

"That's brotherly love," Springs told The Associated Press in
December. "It's something you can't explain, but something that I will
always think about every day for the rest of my life."

The former football stars and their doctors are scheduled to hold a
news conference Friday. The players hope they can inspire others to
become organ donors by sharing their story.

The only other known transplants involving former pro athletes as
donors include Greg Ostertag giving a kidney to his sister in 2002
when he was playing for the Utah Jazz, and basketball Hall of Famer
Oscar Robertson donating a kidney to his daughter in 1997. Several pro
athletes have received an organ, with basketball players Alonzo
Mourning and Sean Elliott returning to play in the NBA following their
ordeals.

The 50-year-old Springs has suffered from diabetes for 16 years and
has been on the national transplant waiting list since 2004. The
disease has led to the amputation of his right foot and the big and
middle toes on his left foot, and caused his hands to curl into knots.
He also was forced into a wheelchair and needed dialysis three times a
week.

Providing his body accepts Walls' kidney, Springs will no longer need
dialysis and can expect his hands to regain their normal form. He also
should again be able to walk on his own.

"It's like getting a new battery in a car," Springs said in December.
"I'll be able to be back to basically almost 100 percent normal."

The 47-year-old Walls volunteered to be tested after things fell
through with two of Springs' relatives who were perfect matches.

"I said, 'Well, look, I know my blood type is the same as his. Why not
give it a shot and see what happens?"' Walls said in December.

Springs and Walls became fast friends during Walls' first training
camp with the Cowboys. They played together only four years (1981-84),
but their close relationship continued, enhanced by their wives and
children being close with each other, too.

The duo had wanted to keep the transplant quiet until it happened, but
word leaked in December through Springs' oldest son, Shawn, who plays
cornerback - Walls' old position - for the Washington Redskins.

Ron Springs joined the Cowboys in 1979 and became a starter alongside
Tony Dorsett in '81, the year Walls arrived as an undrafted rookie
from Grambling. Springs left in 1985, finishing his career with two
seasons in Tampa Bay.

Walls led the NFL in interceptions his first two seasons and again in
'85, making him the only three-time leader in NFL history. He picked
off 57 passes and made the Pro Bowl four times over his 14-year
career, which included stints with the New York Giants and Cleveland
Browns.

Proactive Solutions

2007-02-12T08:54:00.001-08:00

Contributed by: Aaron Taylor

Good Morning Gentleman-

It seems that the recent flurry of media attention has created an incredible amount of awareness, passion, and hope with regards to our situation. The collective efforts of Bruce (Laird), Butch (Byrd), Mike Ditka, Jerry Kramer, (as well as many others it would take to long to name), has finally started to bear fruit in that our situation is now somewhat out in the open and actively being discussed in the public arena. Well done, boys, I applaud your efforts and sincerely thank you for the sacrifices you are making on our behalf. We are now that much closer to creating the changes that we desire.

To be clear, though, our mission of achieving fair, equitable, and appropriate benefits and health care is far from over. Like it or not, we must understand that the powers that be are a multi-billion dollar business that will do whatever it can to preserve as much of its profits as it can, including historically controlling the agenda by putting us in a disadvantaged position. Make no mistake about it: It is here that we finally have the opportunity that we have been waiting for to gain the support, strength, and momentum necessary to effectively create the changes we desire. We Must Control The Agenda.

In short, there are two criteria that ANY group must meet if it wants to effect change: First, it must identify the issue by delivering a consistent, unified, and empowered message. Second, it must offer a realistic, justifiable, and quantitative solution to their problem. Again: deliver a consistent, unified, and empowered message as well as offer a realistic, justifiable, and measurable solution. It is the latter of these two criteria that we must not overlook, for failure to do so could unnecessarily jeopardize our efforts by allowing the NFL and NFLPA to take ownership of our fates....AGAIN. Not for nothing, but have we not seen enough already to know that that cannot be allowed to continue? Remember, in professional football, the bottom line is the bottom line...so let’s not let NFL throw a $10 Million smoke screen at a $100+ Million problem. It is we who must define, justify, and proactively support a solution....because after “the awakening” last week, we must assume that they already have a group of well funded, very smart people on Park Ave coming up with a solution that meets their needs, not ours.

There are two ways an animal can get fed: he can be a rat that waits for some crumbs to fall on the floor, or he can be a savvy, stealthy fox that walks away with the entire muffin. Which will we be?

My momma always said that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. To this end, here are some of the things I have heard throughout this process as well as some things I am doing on my own (these will be gross oversimplifications). I encourage all of us to put some energy to creatively defining what a “WIN” looks like for us, because using words such as “improved”, “increased”, and “better” to describe what we want got some of our asses a whopping extra $50/mo during in the last CBA:

“The 5% Solution”-Whereas 5% of the CBA cap money gets re-designated to health care/benefits of retired players. (great idea, but we need to answer specifically how that money should/could be used..we need to be specific. Don’t let them think for us...for that is what they have always done)

“The 1% Solution”- See above

“Health Care Supplementation”-Whereas pre-existing health insurance costs are supplemented through a grant program in return for minor acts of community service run by a non-profit (e.g. NFL Charities), think of it as paid charitable appearances, if you will. Pros: this will allow for the NFL to take some ownership of it and look good...which is important to big business, as we know. Con: player will need pre-existing coverage and not everyone will qualify of be willing/able

Whatever the solution, it would behoove us to at least explore and think in terms of “what would be a win/win” solution. “How do we get what we want and let them get a crumb?”

Sun-tzu, the great Chinese military general who wrote The Art of War said to always leave your enemy a way to escape, for when their back is up against the wall, they will fight more diligently. Let us not make the same mistake the NFL/PA has made...for in the end it will prove to be their demise...

In service,

Aaron

If you know the enemy and know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy,
for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,
you will succumb in every battle.

Sun-tzu

Pass the butter ... Please

2007-01-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys.
When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the
money into the research wanted a payback so they put their
heads together to figure out what to do with this product
to get their money back. It was a white substance with no
food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it
to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it?
They have come out with some clever new flavorings

DO YOU KNOW... The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams
compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53%
over eating the same amount of Butter, according to a
recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other
nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a
few only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance
the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has
been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine..

Very high in Trans fatty acids.

Triple risk of coronary heart disease.

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad
cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good
cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART
THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine
for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means
hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the
substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or
shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple
of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky Fruit flies will go near
it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no
nutritional value; nothing will grow on it Even those teeny
weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why?
Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your
Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to "butter
them up")!

David E. Garnett
President
iAM Solutions, LLC
703.926-9134 - mobile

Heavy NFL players twice as likely to die before 50

2007-01-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

By Thomas Hargrove
Scripps Howard News Service

The amazing athletes of the National Football League -- bigger and stronger than ever before -- are dying young at a rate experts find alarming, and many of the players are succumbing to ailments typically related to weight.

The heaviest athletes are more than twice as likely to die before their 50th birthday than their teammates, according to a Scripps Howard News Service study of 3,850 professional-football players who have died in the last century.

	“	Do you see any oversized animals anywhere in the world living a long life? We're pretty much on our own here. ”
		— Tony Siragusa

Most of the 130 players born since 1955 who have died were among the heaviest athletes in sports history, according to the study. One-fifth died of heart diseases, and 77 were so overweight that doctors would have classified them as obese, the study found.

The bone-crushing competitiveness of professional football is spawning hundreds of these behemoths -- many of whom top the scales at 300 pounds or more -- and the pressure to super-size now extends to younger players in college and even high school.

As America anticipates Sunday's Super Bowl -- the annual orgy of admiration for the NFL and its athletes -- physicians are increasingly questioning whether, by bulking up for their shot at fame and fortune, players are sacrificing their health later in life.

"Clearly, these big, fat guys are having coronaries," said Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor of health policy and sport science.

The trend lines are even more disturbing.

Twenty years ago, it was rare for a player to weigh 300 pounds. But more than 500 players were listed at that weight or more on NFL training-camp rosters this summer -- including San Francisco 49ers guard Thomas Herrion, who collapsed and died after an exhibition game in August.

The relatively recent explosion in the number of 300-pound linemen "presents a frightening picture in terms of what we might expect 20 years from now," said Dr. Sherry Baron, who studied the issue in 1994 for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

The 49ers paid tribute to Thomas Herrion on during an exhibition game six days after he died.

Baron's study, conducted at the request of the NFL Players Association, found that while players generally weren't dying sooner than average, offensive and defensive linemen had a 52 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than the general population.

The Scripps Howard study suggests that the risk for those heaviest players is increasing, although exact comparisons to the general population were impossible to make because so many factors -- heredity, sedentary lifestyles, eating habits, as well as size -- contribute to heart disease.

"We know that the body mass index levels have shifted since our 1994 study," Baron said. "More [football players] now would be considered obese."

Scripps Howard was able to compare mortality rates for professional-football players with the 2,403 Major League Baseball players who have died in the last century. The comparison found that football players are more than twice as likely to die before age 50. Asked to speculate on the cause for this difference, experts noted that football players generally are heavier than baseball players.

The threat isn't lost on retired players, who acknowledge that they are spooked by the potential problems they now face.

"Do you see any oversized animals anywhere in the world living a long life?" asked Tony "Goose" Siragusa, a 340-pound defensive tackle for 12 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. "We're pretty much on our own here."

The Scripps Howard study tracked the deaths of 3,850 pro-football players born since 1905. Medical examiners and coroners were contacted to determine the causes of death for the 130 players who died before age 50. The study found:

The Complete Study

Scripps Howard News Service studied 3,850 professional-football players who have died in the last century. What they found, and some issues it raised, are chronicles here:

• Study: NFL players dying young at alarming rate
• Compared to baseball, football players die younger
• Bigger isn't better as far as health is concerned
• Evidence is clear: Preps are getting bigger, too

• Twenty-eight percent of all pro-football players born in the last century who qualified as obese died before their 50th birthday, compared with 13 percent who were less overweight.

• One of every 69 players born since 1955 is now dead.

• Twenty-two percent of those players died of heart diseases; 19 percent died from homicides or suicides.

• Seventy-seven percent of those who died of heart diseases qualified as obese, even during their playing days, and they were 2½ times more likely to die of coronaries than their trimmer teammates.

• Only 10 percent of deceased players born from 1905 through 1914 were obese while active. Today, 56 percent of all players on NFL rosters are categorized as obese.

• The average weight in the NFL has grown by 10 percent since 1985 to a current average of 248 pounds. The heaviest position, offensive tackle, went from 281 pounds two decades ago to 318 pounds.

The NFL has expressed concern over whether players are obese and risking health problems.

Forgotten in the frenzy surrounding Super Bowl XL is the tragic way the season started. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Herrion collapsed in the 49ers' locker room after the team's Aug. 20 exhibition in Denver. An autopsy showed that his heart was scarred and oversized and that heart disease had blocked his right coronary artery. He was only 23.

At a memorial service for Herrion, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue pointed out that he already had asked medical experts to study the cardiovascular health of players. That study is incomplete.

"We need to understand in a serious way what the risks are, to the extent that there are risk factors," Tagliabue told reporters. "We've got to address them. We are working on it."

But in a statement, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello dismissed the Scripps Howard study, saying: "The issue of obesity in our society transcends sports and must be dealt with in a comprehensive, responsible way. This media survey contributes nothing."

Tagliabue wouldn't comment for this article.

The NFL also criticized a 2003 study by University of North Carolina endocrinologist Joyce Harp. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that 56 percent of NFL players were obese according to their body-mass indexes -- the government standard based on height and weight.

The Scripps Howard study also used the body-mass index to determine whether a player was obese. The NFL says it believes that standard is misleading because it doesn't account for the player's muscles. But many experts disagree and say that body-mass index is a valid indication that a player may face greater health risks.

"When you get that big -- regardless of whether your body is muscle or fat -- your heart is stressed," Penn State's Yesalis said.

"Is it good for guys to be that big? Of course not," he said. "I fully support a weight limit of 275 pounds. It would reduce injuries and have a positive effect on the short- and long-term health of these men."

The NFL Players Association declined to comment for this article. But Kevin Guskiewicz, director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina, is conducting research for the association on the issue. He said he is alarmed at the information he sees.

"We are finding a number of health issues among these players," Guskiewicz said. "They clearly have higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension, especially in the offensive and defensive linemen. And it clearly is higher than in the general population."

Defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry almost single-handedly brought 300-pounders into vogue when he became a pop sensation for the Chicago Bears. As a goal-line running back, he bulled his way to a touchdown in Super Bowl XX in 1986. Perry, who topped out at 370 pounds during his career, said he has actually gained some weight in retirement but tries not to dwell on the risks.

"I've been big all my life," Perry said. "Mental attitude is as important as your physical condition after the NFL. I try to keep a happy balance."

Weighty Issue

In November 2004, ESPN.com's Page 2 looked at the size of NFL players. Take a look back at what we found:

• Caple: The NFL is living large
• '04 NFL weight rankings
• Large and small of it
• '79 Steelers vs. '04 Steelers

Several retired players said they believe that losing weight is an issue of life or death.

"We've all got to remember to shed that armor when our NFL career is over," said Jim Lachey, who is 25 pounds lighter since the days he weighed 294 while an offensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins from 1985-95. "A lot of guys are doing it. But, I know, there are others with injuries that prevent them from running and doing the things they must do to shed the weight."

Tony Mandarich -- nicknamed "The Incredible Bulk" while playing guard at 325 pounds for the Green Bay Packers -- said he gained even more weight after retiring and soon was put on high-blood-pressure medicine.

"My doctor asked me, 'How many 320-pound men who are 80 years old do you see walking around?' That's when the lightbulb came on over my head," Mandarich said.

He changed his diet, began hiking and mountain-biking regularly, and shed 60 pounds. "That doesn't mean I won't die of a heart attack at 39, but I've given myself the best chance,'' said Mandarich, who is 39 now.

The wakeup for many retired players came with the 2004 death of two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Reggie White, known for his passionate religious faith and pass-rushing skills. He died at age 43 of cardiac arrhythmia compounded by breathing disorders.

"When I heard that Reggie had died, the first thing that came into my head was that I hoped he'd let himself go and was out of shape," Mandarich said. "Because if he was in shape, it's not a good thing for any of us."

Actually, White had dropped about 25 pounds from his playing weight of 325, members of his family said. But he also suffered from sarcoidosis, or inflammation in his lungs, which led to thunderous snoring and a profound sleep apnea.

"These guys live such an extreme lifestyle with their weight that they are going to be prone to hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease. There is no question about it," said Dr. Barry Maron, director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Several medical examiners contacted by Scripps Howard remarked on the size of retired players who died of heart-related causes.

"He was a rather big boy at 6-foot-2 and 498 pounds," said Steve Gelman of the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office when asked why Joe Drake, a retired guard for the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles, died in 1994 at 31.

"Essentially, he had clogged arteries and a heart attack. Mr. Drake was going out to lunch with some friends when he complained of sweating and nausea just before he collapsed on the street next to his car," Gelman said.

Willis Leggett of Muskogee, Okla., said he does not blame football for the death of former Eagles offensive guard and tackle Scott Leggett. Doctors told Leggett that his son died of congestive heart failure at age 35.

"God put Scott on this earth and God took him off," Leggett said. "If he hadn't played football, he probably would have died sooner. Football was his goal and that's what he wanted to do. No one could change his mind."

(The Scripps Howard study created

Some say issue of team docs, ethical conflictsneeds to be addressed

2006-12-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

------Original Message------
From: Baltimore Colts Alumni
Sender: Retired Players Google Group
To: Retired Players Google Group
Sent: Dec 22, 2006 10:29 PM
Subject: [Retired NFL Players] Some say issue of team docs, ethical conflictsneeds to be addressed

Wed, Dec. 20, 2006

By Greg Bishop

The Seattle Times

SEATTLE - Before Dr. Rob Huizenga worked for the TV show "The Biggest
Loser" and became a national weight-loss expert at UCLA, he wrote a
book.

The title: "You're Okay, It's Just a Bruise." The content: Former
Oakland Raiders team doctor spills secrets from the sideline.

The suggestion: Make NFL team doctors accountable to someone other than
the team. And while the NFL has made continual improvements in
equipment and facilities since the book was published in 1994, the
issue of team doctors and ethical conflicts went largely unaddressed.

"It's a lousy system with an obvious conflict of interest," Huizenga
said in a phone interview. "It should be closer to how it is in boxing,
where the doctors are not beholden to the promoter or to the fighters.
The NFL needs to get out of the middle ages."

After his book came out, Huizenga said the NFL banned doctors from
talking about medical conditions. In other sports, such talk is
allowed.

Huizenga felt constant pressure to keep players on the field. And not
just from the owner or a coach, but from athletes who wouldn't be
world-class without that mindset.

Former Washington Husky Curt Marsh played for the Raiders during
Huizenga's tenure with the team. A misdiagnosed injury during the last
game of his final season, by a doctor other than Huizenga, led to the
eventual amputation of Marsh's right leg below the knee and more than a
dozen ankle surgeries.

Marsh said the Raiders discouraged him from seeking medical advice
outside the team. When the doctor who misdiagnosed his injury found out
Marsh was seeking outside counsel, Marsh said the doctor then, and only
then, recommended surgery.

After hearing about his story, the National Hockey League invited Marsh
to speak to its players about the long-term effects of cumulative
injuries. He wishes the NFL would do the same.

"I would tell them you can't be a co-conspirator in your own demise,"
Marsh said. "I told doctors to hide my injuries. I did that more than
once. Your health is a thing of value, and if you exchange that for a
few dollars, you're really missing the boat."

At least current NFL players are allowed to seek outside opinions and
have their own doctors perform surgeries, albeit sometimes at the
chagrin of their team or coach.

Back when Blair Bush played for Cincinnati, from 1978 to 1982, players
who sought outside opinions were considered anti-team. Bush says he got
a second opinion on an injured knee, on his day off, on his own dime.
The next day he was summoned to the owner's office and asked to explain
himself. Soon he was traded to the Seahawks.

"It used to be a career-threatening decision," Bush said.

So what can current players do to improve their long-term physical
outlook? For one, they can use the Maher Mouth Guard, invented by a
Massachusetts dentist. Between 2000 and 2003, the NFL reported 203
concussions. The Patriots reported zero. Guess which mouthguard they
use?

Physical therapist Brent George of Northgate-based G2 Sports Therapy
recommends players better utilize the resources teams already have.
Assessing their biomechanics, alignment, strength, mobility, endurance
and hydration - essentially understanding the science of their body to
prevent injuries.

Former Seahawk Norm Evans recommends working with a chiropractor and
concentrating on nutrition, particularly for linemen in today's
super-sized NFL.

"I'm a firm believer that an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of
cure," he said.

Others suggest having a neurologist on the sideline at every NFL game.
Or forcing players to sit for a minimum number of weeks after suffering
a concussion. Retired players have options, too, including a plan that,
if they pay for it annually, allows them to use eight medical centers
across the country for surgery or rehab procedures.

Huizenga suggests doctors not numb joints "that are critical," meaning
weight-dependent joints like ankles and knees. But leaving injury
prevention in the hands of players is a slippery slope. Which is why he
also suggests doctors be held accountable to someone other than the
team.

Others are split on whether his idea would work. George, for one,
doesn't think so. Huizenga says, "It wouldn't be difficult at all,"
noting that up to eight teams have doctors paying for the right to be
the team doctor, presenting another ethical confl

David E. Garnett
President
iAM Solutions, LLC
703.926-9134 - mobile

Many NFL Players Fatter Than Couch Potatoes

2006-11-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

1 in 4 NFL Players Classified as Extremely Obese

By Jennifer Warner <http://my.webmd.com/content/Biography/7/1756_54621.htm>
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD
on Tuesday, March 01, 2005

March 1, 2005 - Professional football players may be twice as likely to be considered obese as armchair quarterbacks.

Researchers found more than half of National Football League (NFL) players were obese according to their body mass index (BMI). Only about a quarter of other men in the same age group were obese.

In addition, more than a quarter of NFL players were classified as extremely obese (known as class 2 obesity).

BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height and is used to indicate body fat. However, BMI is a bit controversial. It can appear elevated in very muscular people. For instance, bodybuilders with a very low body-fat percentage often have a BMI in the obese range.

However, the researchers say that it's unlikely that the high BMIs of NFL players, especially those in the extremely obese range, were due to healthy muscle mass.

For most people, even fit people, BMI is a good indicator of health. Multiple studies have shown that people with a BMI over 25 are more likely to get life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Calculators are available to determine your BMI.

But some research indicates that waist size may be a better indicator of health than BMI.

NFL Players Pack on Pounds

According to the National Institutes of Health, the following BMI ranges are used to indicate normal weight, overweight, and obesity:

Weight Classification BMI
Normal weight 18.5-24.9
Overweight 25-29.9
Obese class 1 30-34.9
Obese class 2 35-39.9
Obese class 3 40+

In their study, which appears in the March 2 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers obtained the weights, heights, and positions for active NFL players in the 2003-2004 season from the official NFL web site.

Data were available for 2,168 NFL players; researchers calculated the BMI for each player and team.

More than 56% of the NFL players had a BMI over 30, which classifies them as obese. That's double the percentage of obese men in the U.S. aged 20-39 years, according to a national survey (56% vs. 23%).

In addition, more than a quarter of those players had a BMI over 35, which classifies them as extremely obese and at very high risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Cornerback-defensive backs had the lowest BMI, on average, and guards had the highest average BMI.

When researchers compared average BMIs across different NFL teams, they found the Arizona Cardinals had the highest team BMI (32.2) and the Tennessee Titans had the lowest (30.5).

Researchers say the high numbers of large NFL players was not a surprise given the pressures of professional athletes to increase their size.

But they say the results suggest that added bulk may not be without health consequences. Previous studies have shown that professional football players with higher BMIs had higher blood pressure than other players and were more likely to suffer from sleep apnea, a condition commonly associated with obesity.