Akebono Taro was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler ever to reach the highest rank in Sumo wrestling and he was also one of the tallest and heaviest Sumo wrestlers ever at 6' 8" in height and more than 500 pounds in weight. Taro retired from wrestling in January 2001 due to multiple injuries, and his massive obesity eventually caused him to die of heart failure at age 54.

Each muscle fiber is made of a series of blocks called sarcomeres that are lined up end to end. Each sarcomere is attached to the one next to it at a "Z line." Muscle fibers do not contract equally along their lengths; they contract only at each "Z line". To strengthen a muscle, you have to put enough force on the muscle to damage the Z-lines, as evidenced by bleeding and swelling into the Z-lines.

Researchers at the Mass General Hospital report that stool samples from more than 1,400 participants in the Framingham Heart Study grew certain bacteria, such as Oscillibacter or Eubacterium coprostanoligenes, that break down cholesterol in your gut to lower blood cholesterol levels. Realize that these bacteria lower cholesterol only as long as you don’t take in more calories than you burn. When you take in lots of extra calories, your liver makes so much more cholesterol that your blood cholesterol level will still rise.

A new study found that a two-year program of personalized instruction on specific lifestyle changes helped to delay and prevent loss of memory in a study group of 172 people who were at high risk for dementia (JAMA Intern Med, Jan 1, 2024;184(1):54-62). The modifiable risk factors identified for this study included hearing loss, high blood pressure, alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking, air pollution, depression, levels of physical activity and socialization, and diabetes control. People in the special instruction group had a 74 percent greater improvement in memory, compared to the group that did not receive regular and continuous special instruction.

O.J. Simpson died from the complications of prostate cancer on April 10, 2024, shortly after he had received chemotherapy. He was 76 years old. He was respected as one of America’s best football players, but lost a lot of personal respect after the 1994 death of his ex-wife and her friend. Simpson is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. He played most of his college football at the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected first overall by the Buffalo Bills in 1969.

Too much sun exposure can cause skin cancers, but getting small amounts of sunlight on your skin for short periods may have some benefits beyond providing vitamin D The problem is that nobody really knows how much sun exposure an individual can tolerate without increasing skin cancer risk.

Almost all skin cancers are caused by repeated damage to the DNA in skin cells from excessive exposure to sunlight. Every cell in your body is programmed to live for a limited time and then die. This is called apoptosis. For example, red blood cells live for only around 120 days and then die. A new skin cell starts on the inner bottom layer of your skin and then progressively moves to the outside, where it is sloughed off as dander or dandruff at about 28 days.

Seiji Ozawa was a classical music conductor who was famous through an incredible number of recordings, radio and television appearances, and world tours. He was the lead conductor of the Chicago Symphony (1964–1968), the Toronto Symphony (1965–1969), the San Francisco Symphony (1970–1977), the Boston Symphony (1973–2002), and the Vienna State Opera (2002–2010). While other conductors wore tuxedos, Ozawa was known to wear a white turtleneck or an open-collared polo shirt with a colorful jacket. On February 4, 2024, at age 88, he died of heart failure caused by complications of the late stages of esophageal cancer.

Everyone should get vitamin B12 and vitamin D tests on their routine medical blood tests, particularly if you have diabetes or have risk factors for diabetes. A recent study from China found that vitamin D deficiency (hydroxyvitamin D less than 20 ng/mL) is common in diabetics, and that diabetics who lack .vitamin D are at markedly increased risk for nerve damage when compared to diabetics who are not vitamin D deficient.

When you exercise in hot weather, you don't need special sports drinks or power bars. A review of 46 studies shows that a person can prolong endurance by eating before and during exercise (Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2018 May;28(5):1476-1493). However, even the most elite athletes can get the nutrients they need from ordinary foods, water and salt. Healthy and fit people usually don't need to drink or eat when they exercise at a casual pace for less than two hours.