The issue of hydration and athletes is a serious issue.  Researchers find it important enough to take sweat samples from hot, stinky soccer players to measure the contents of their sweat.  The purpose of such studies is to measure what is lost in sweat and then devise a method for best replenishing the lost elements.

Hydration should be a concern in every athletic and fitness endeavor, but with summer underway, hydrating our athletes becomes increasingly important..

After reviewing several research articles and seeking the help of a colleague, Alex Rosenzweig a former trainer to the Chicago Bears, I have compiled guidelines concerning female teenage athletes and their hydration requirements.

Dehydration, including acute levels, will affect the athlete physiologically, mechanically, and mentally. (D.A. Judelson, 2007)  The symptoms of dehydration are not as obvious or dramatic as we may believe.

Professional makeup artist Christopher Drummond scoured the runways during Spring/Summer New York Fashion Week this past September to come up with makeup trends that would complement the collections. He then took those trends and incorporated them into his line in a realistic, workable way so the everyday woman could look fashion forward, but not over-the-top.

The top trends that Christopher predicated for this season were pastels, corals and a focus on the eyes.

IAM asked Dr. Belilovsky about his take on the study published this week in the Journal Pediatrics linking pesticide exposure in children to a diagnosis of ADHD. Here is what he told us:

Parents shouldn’t necessarily react hysterically to the recent study linking ADHD and pesticides.  One major confounder in this study is the known tendency of ADHD children for self-stimulating behaviors, such as chewing non-food objects.  It is possible that some of the link is due to larger exposure of ADHD sufferers to possibly contaminated dirt or contaminated objects that children without ADHD would not have exposed themselves to.

It affects one out of every ten Americans, more often in women, yet it can go undetected quite frequently. Thyroid disease is linked to the hormones in your body and can cause a laundry list of symptoms that are similar to other illnesses, making it difficult to diagnose. It is, however, such a common problem, especially for postpartum and menopausal women, that it really needs to be addressed. “Genetics plays a minor role in thyroid disease,” states Dr. Norman Levin, an Aldie-based Internist and Rheumatologist, “Estrogens can interfere with thyroid productivity: foods like commercially-raised chicken and beef often include additional hormones that our bodies don’t need and we’re ingesting them.”

After the stork fairy blessed me with two hassle-free bundles (Deborah in 1988 and Alexandra in 1998), I took it for granted that my oven cooked to perfection. I got (and stayed) pregnant on the first and second months of trying, consecutively. I was a natural at baby making. Oblivious to what the fates had in store for me, I decided in Y2K to complete my family with number three. In July of 2000, at age 35, I embarked on my quest; in September, the second line on the pregnancy test turned pink.

Myth 1: I paid a lot of money for a wrinkle cream that has collagen and elastin in it to get rid of my wrinkles.

This is called succumbing to the power of marketing. At best, most antiaging creams will temporarily plump up the top layer of skin to give the appearance of fewer wrinkles. In reality, the claim that a collagen cream can erase or fill lines and turn back the clock is completely false. We lose elasticity and tone as we age but spending upwards of $500 for 2 ounces of a collagen cream, even if the claim is that it is a “bio-available” form, is a huge waste of money. The collagen molecule itself is too large to penetrate the skin barrier so, if you really want a quick fix, go to your cosmetic dermatologist or surgeon and spend that money on a syringe of injectable collagen to plump up your wrinkles. Otherwise, in order to be effective, a topical product must contain ingredients such as Retin-A and a stable form of vitamin C to truly be effective at stimulating your own skin’s collagen production.

What’s the coolest fitness-related investment you can make as we head into the DC metro region’s infamously sizzling summer months? Not a cute tennis mini or the latest pair of Asics running kicks. Your best ally for working out safely – and effectively – is strapped right to your wrist and chest, in the form of a heart-rate monitor.

It’s summer. We are told to slather on the sunscreen, don summer hats and stay indoors on those dreaded black flag days, not only because we don’t want to burn or advance the aging process but also to avoid melanoma. Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that is sadly becoming more common in the U.S. with nearly 70,000 new cases being identified just last year. Fortunately, most cases of melanoma require nothing more than to have the affected area excised, although there were almost 9,000 deaths attributed to this cancer last year.