During the past 15 years, studies have demonstrated that resistance strength training produces multiple fitness benefits for older adults. Here are just a sampling of the benefits seniors can expect from weight training.

Minimizing Lean Body Mass Loss
Adults lose between five to seven pounds of muscle every decade after age 20. Only strength training prevents muscle loss.

Maintaining an Active Metabolic Rate
Physically inactive adults experience a two to five percent reduction in their basal metabolic rate per decade.

Maimonides Medical Center has been recognized with a five-star rating for clinical excellence in women’s health services, based on a recently published study by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company. This places Maimonides in the top 10 % of hospitals in the nation for women’s health programs in stroke, cardiac and maternity services.

“Our goal is to provide excellent care to the communities we serve,” said Maimonides President and CEO Pamela S. Brier. “It is most gratifying for all of us at Maimonides to be recognized for excellence in our services to women patients. And we will continue to strive to improve the quality of our care.”

The back-to-school bell will be sounding soon. As a parent, you want to help your child get off to a good start for the school year. The place to begin is here, where you can find a selection of healthy tips for boosting your pint-sized pupil’s physical and emotional well-being.

The obesity epidemic has influenced both the food industry and consumers to make changes in the hope of encouraging a healthier lifestyle. Bills are being introduced to remove vending machines from schools and to improve the nutritional balance of school lunch programs.

What is your family doing to ensure healthy eating habits for your kids? How can you be responsible? Or, do you want to be?

Professor Wenyuan Shi and his lollipops

When they were little, my kids knew the rule for eating lollipops: “Six licks and in the garbage,” but Professor Wenyuan Shi, a microbiologist, has changed all that.

A few years ago, dentistry professor and microbiologist Wenyuan Shi discovered an ingredient derived from licorice roots that combats a main bacterium that causes tooth decay. Now, this ingredient is infused in a kosher, sugar-free, orange-flavored, bacteria-killing lollipop. Two dental schools took over and did clinical trials and found they can stop about 95% of cavities in kids by using the herbal lollipops and following some common sense rules. Even with the lollipops though, Shi says don’t stop brushing. “It’s important for a lot of reasons beyond cavity fighting.”

What is metabolism? Your metabolism, experts say, involves a complex network of hormones and enzymes that not only convert food but also affect how efficiently you burn that fuel. Our metabolism establishes the rate at which we burn our calories and, ultimately, how quickly we gain and how easily we lose weight.

Of course, not everyone burns calories at the same rate. Your metabolism is influenced by your age. Metabolism naturally slows about 5% per decade after age 30. Men generally burn more calories than women. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. And yes, heredity makes a difference. Some people just burn calories at a slower rate than others. Occasionally, a defect in the thyroid gland can slow metabolism.

Getting sick during a vacation can do more than spoil a trip. It can also lead to long-term negative health consequences. Diseases that have been eradicated in the United States are still active in certain countries, and the water supply is not always safe for drinking.

Fortunately, people can protect themselves against illness when they travel. The Maimonides Travel Medicine Service—which is overseen and staffed entirely by infectious disease physicians—offers comprehensive pre-trip medical care, reducing the likelihood that serious illness will occur while abroad.

Thirst Quenching, Soul Quenching

Kosher hot dogs, kosher chicken, kosher pizza, kosher strawberries—these are all part of a regular kosher diet. Well here’s a new one to add to the list: kosher water.

People turn to bottled water for one thing in particular: purity. And what’s more pure than something that’s certified kosher?

And with a certification from the Orthodox Union, Mizmor Kosher Water is capitalizing on the importance of purity and kashrut in the marketplace.