NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
I trust this finds you all in great health and getting even better. In the interest of continually optimizing health and I’m writing with some updates.
Good news! A recently produced “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law” issued by the United States District, Central District of California – Eastern Division essentially makes the use of human stem cells legal in the U.S. by disagreeing with the FDA’s position to classify stem cells as a drug which then requires significant testing, time and expense through clinical trials and approval by the FDA before they can be used for medical treatment of humans. The FDA has missed its window of opportunity to appeal the decision. Thus, doctors can now use stem cells to treat patients for a myriad of applicable conditions and per the doctor’s discretion.
As a source for evaluation and some more motivation, I ask and encourage all of you to join my portal within Garmin Connect, an application that collects exercise data and aggregates it in an easy way to assess and evaluate effort, progress and fitness. Simply sign up for a free account at connect.garmin.com and search for me: Rand McClain, Malibu, CA, click on “Connect” and as soon as I get the request, I’ll complete the connection. I will be able to see any workouts/exercise you post, and you will have access to mine as well. No others will be able to see your workouts unless you specifically connect with them in the same way you do with me. While you (or I) won’t receive a free toaster or anything from Garmin, sharing data with each other will enable us to more precisely evaluate progress toward fitness goals plus it can just be fun sharing and “keeping each other honest” – like training partners.
HYDRATION & SWEAT
Although it looks like it may be the last of it for this year in the northern hemisphere, a quick note about heat and the “masters” athlete. When we are young, the sweat produced to reduce core body heat is limited naturally and physiologically at some point to avoid dehydration though at the added secondary risk of raising body temperature. I can remember trying to cut weight for wrestling matches in high school and eventually – by the third trip into the sauna – just getting hot and not sweating at all.
As we age, that mechanism fails and the body does not limit the amount of water lost in an effort to dissipate heat. The result can be catastrophic leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke – especially if you remember your youth and having successfully navigated the heat without the slightest issue. For us “masters” athletes it is imperative that we give extra consideration to hydration and awareness to external (as well as internal) temperatures while training. There is no set amount of liquid required – the proper amount will be a factor of temperature, output/intensity, fitness, age and, as always, individual requirements, but weighing before and after exercise (as a gauge of water loss) and hydrating at regular intervals is a good start to finding out what works best for you. Also, if you are training in heat frequently, you may find it valuable (as I have) to invest in a CORE sensor to monitor your body temperature while exercising.
For those of you who have not heard about allulose, it is a non-caloric functional sweetener that is actually naturally produced (as opposed to an “artificial sweetener”). It has been shown in some studies to actually reduce blood glucose (“sugar”) and looks, feels and tastes like real table sugar. It can be used to cook and in a ratio of 1:1.5 matches sugar sweetness and other functionality (except for calories) almost exactly. You can find this molecule online, but few, if any, products made with allulose. So, I have begun manufacturing bars and drink mixes using this healthy functional sweetener and hope to have them packaged and ready to go by the end of this year.
STEM CELL SKIN CARE
We are also preparing to launch a suite of stem cell-based topical formulations for the skin to include different concentrations for the around the eyes, face and body. We hope to announce availability by the first quarter next year. These products mimic the results of the Personal Cell Science line that we still offer but using umbilical cord tissue cells and thereby obviating the need to harvest one’s own cells.
OUR OFFICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
We have recently (August 5th) opened our Houston office with Dr. Todd acting as its Medical Director and primary provider. As many of you know Dr. Todd comes to us from Baylor University’s urology program headed by Dr. Larry Lipshultz, and Dr. Todd will be adding testosterone pellet implantation to the list of TRT offerings RSM provides.
We are also opening our service throughout the country of Canada. Dr. Norry Kaler will oversee operations there as our Medical Director. We look forward to being able to help optimize health in Canada and expanding to the United Kingdom and Australia.
This year we celebrate the 3-year anniversaries of three of our RSM Team members, Holli (Pockets) Bell, Jamie and Kira. For those of you still with us from the earlier years, you are well aware of the blessing we have in these three individuals working with RSM instead of predecessors!
For those interested in furthering their fitness goals, please visit MindPump. These gentlemen have the requisite knowledge of human physiology and exercise movements and techniques to help achieve the body composition and fitness level desired by anyone interested. We participate together in a FB forum and with occasional podcasts that summarize some of the concepts of health optimization.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and American Cryostem (“CRYO”) have entered into an agreement to study the effects and treatment of “Long COVID” (persistent and often debilitating symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection). I will be participating as a sub-investigator in these studies and the results should help provide access to stem cell treatment for Long COVID. Meanwhile, we are approximately halfway through our study treating Post-Concussion Syndrome with autologous stem cells and the results are so far outstanding and provide further proof of stem cells efficacy in treating Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
NEUROMUSCULAR THERAPY
Lastly, for anyone in Los Angeles in need of Neuromuscular Therapy (aka massage or bodywork), our Manhattan Beach location provides treatment 7 days a week. If you would prefer treatment at home, I have yet to find a better masseur than Weitao "Jason" Zhang at (626) 550-6722. Without reservation, I encourage anyone interested in recovery from injury or simply from weekly exercise to take advantage of Jason’s expertise. Without his help, personally, I would not have so quickly recovered so successfully and quickly from two hip replacement surgeries last year, and he has since kept me in top form.
Best in health,
Rand