Health and Fitness News

• Traveling to MMS 2008 -- get air sick?

  Never get motion sick again.  My wife uses this thing and it really works!   Motion Sickness Band TravelMate http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000VHXMRK/o/qid=buzzmanagement   - 2 years ago

• Smartphone Fitness apps

  Here's a couple I use that you might find useful... Progio for WM5 Smartphone Download coached workouts to your mobile device, including easy to follow exercise instructions and videos. DIYWorkout Mobile for Smartphone DIYWorkout Mobile replaces the pen and paper workout log and allows the user to enter and upload exercise data from the gym which can analyzed later. - 2 years ago

• McDonald's boss is sniffing his own special sauce

  McDonald’s boss: ‘Games to blame for childhood obesity’ http://www.mcvuk.com/news/29268/McDonalds-boss-Games-to-blame-for-childhood-obesity - 2 years ago

• Bowflex folks lied to me

  I’ve owned a Bowflex for about 5 years.  Love it.  Absolutely the best home gym available.  Believe me, I’ve had quite a few different brands and styles over the years, and the Bowflex is the best, bar none.  In fact, I liked the product so much, I also purchased the SelectTech Dumbbells.  Another great invention for health and fitness. A couple years back, I noticed that the Bowflex “power rods” weren’t keeping their shape.  What I mean is that, when purchased, they are straight and rigid.  After use, they lose their straight shape and acquire a casual bend.  So what is normally completely straight, is curved a bit from bending them during workouts. To me, the permanent bend meant that not only were the power rods not keeping their shape, but they were also losing their “power”.  So, it made perfect sense to me that when new you would get an optimum workout because the rods retained their documented weight equivalent, but after time (when they started retaining a bend) they would lose their overall weight equivalent.  Seemed logical.  The Bowflex folks have always had great support, replacing broken pieces for free several times, sending out re-engineered parts for safety reasons, stuff like that.  So, I decided to call them about the power rods losing their shape and power. On the phone, they told me that the Bowflex is engineered against any defect like this and that the power rods were designed to never lose their power.  Of course, this didn’t make sense to me so I tried to explain the finer points of engineering and why nothing lasts forever.  Instead of agreeing with me (what product company really would?) they suggested that I wasn’t maintaining the Bowflex the way I should, yet I’ve always maintained the unit just like it was new.  In fact, you won’t find a spec of dust on it today. It was a lost cause, so I accepted their story and left it alone.  Until today… Both of my Bowflex hand grips have cracked (which, by the way, I was told were designed not to crack), so I was out on their web site to see if I could order replacements.  Looking through their online accessory catalog, I couldn’t find a way to order replacements, yet I found this: Bowflex® Power Rod® Rejuvenator™ – Helps ensure your Bowflex® Power Rod® resistance rods perform just like new, every time you use them! Keeps Power Rod® resistance rods neat and organized when not in use! Hmmm…might be time for another call to Bowflex.  Wonder what they’ll tell me now. - 2 years ago

• Bad news for the Monster drinkers

  High School kids live on these things. Energy drinks jolt blood pressure, study finds - 2 years ago

• Do you get the "shakes" without your Blackberry fix?

  If your hipbone is connected to your BlackBerry or your thighbone is connected to your cell phone, those vibrations you're feeling in the car, in your pajamas, in the shower, may be coming from your headbone. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/11/tech/main3357103.shtml - 2 years ago

• Wireless networking a health concern?

  The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced it will carry out "systematic" research into how wireless networks are being used. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7042334.stm - 2 years ago

• Soccer Burns More Fat Than Jogging

  There's a new slogan for weight-watchers: Burn it like Beckham. A friendly game of soccer, a new study has found, works off more fat and builds up more muscle than jogging. Read the rest… - 2 years ago

• Hard to believe...just a few more nights...

  A few more nights left in 2006.  This time of the year you always (at least I do) start thinking about the year that was, and the year to come.  What changes you want to make, what things you want to do differently.  More exercise and nutrition changes are always on my list.  I should keep tallies of how many days I get good physical exercise over the total year.  I typically go in waves. Some weeks I exercise five or six times, other weeks I don't get any.  I wonder if I tallied for the whole year if I'm actually getting better as I get older, or worse. - 3 years ago

• Is taking time off becoming a lost art?

  When’s the last time you really took a good vacation?  I mean, without checking in with work while you were out?  Do you take time off but check voicemail and email regularly?  Apparently, I’m not alone…check out the full article here. Are you running off to the beach this year? Is your car packed with beach umbrellas, rusty beach chairs, a BlackBerry, laptop and several cellphones? Are you taking just one week instead of your allotted two? Then I guess you're all set. That's because one in four workers plans to work while on vacation this year, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey. (So is it still considered a vacation? Or are you just working from a prettier office?) Meanwhile, workers are expected to give back 574 million vacation days in 2006, depriving themselves of much-needed breaks, according to Expedia.com's annual vacation deprivation survey. The number of vacation days that employees are skipping this year increased by one from last year. On average, Americans leave at least four days unclaimed annually. "People in America don't take all the vacation time they should or could," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which is based in Washington, D.C. They "actually work very hard, have very long hours and are under a lot of stress. ... It's a very tough world out there, and unfortunately it has the effect of leading people to take less vacation or, when they take it, they take much of their work with them. And they are under a lot of stress and having problems balancing their lives." - 3 years ago

• Feeling job stress? Apparently you're not alone...

  More than three-fourths of respondents to a recent survey said they feel job burnout, while more than 50 percent feel they are under a "great deal of stress."  Sixteen percent of respondents blame their colleagues for their office woes, followed by unrealistic workload, tight deadlines, last-minute projects and meddling bosses. The "office stress" study was conducted by CareerBuilder.com and included 2,500 online responses.  More than 50% feel they are under a great deal of stress, more than 75% feel job burnout.  CareerBuilder.com’s tips for reducing stress: - Organize and prioritize by taking care of the more difficult and important tasks early in the day. - Manage expectations so that you can achieve your goals and deliver on promises to others. - Set aside a period of time dedicated to responding to e-mail and voicemails. - Lastly, take care of yourself. A healthier you is more productive and happier. Which begs the question.  What happened to leisure time and vacations?  When’s the last time you had a real vacation, I mean time off you actually unplugged and ignored work?  I remember reading articles years ago that said we were headed for a day and age where we had so much free time we wouldn’t know what to do with it.  When I was growing up, trying to find stores open late in the evenings during the week was hard.  Saturdays was taboo and the hours open for stores was different.  Forget finding stores open on Sunday’s.  I actually think there were laws forbidding stores to be open on Sunday.  Remember that?  Now, lots of stores are open 24x7, and they post signs on the stores weeks in advance when they are actually closing. Out of curiosity, I want statistic hunting.  The average employed person is now on the job an additional 163 hours, or the equivalent of one month a year compared to figures 30 years ago.  Can you believe that?  We’re working a month more per year than our parents did, with all of our technological advances.  A recent survey shows that 38% of us work more than 50 hours per week.  The economists really called this one didn’t they?  What’s wrong with us?  Do we not know how to have fun anymore? - 4 years ago

• Jason Collier dies Saturday at 28

  Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died Saturday morning, possibly of cardiac arrest, the team said. He was 28. Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said no other details immediately were available and did not say where Collier was when he died. - 4 years ago

• For all you coffee drinkers out there...

  Americans' love affair with coffee means they get more antioxidants from this drink than from any other source in their diet, a new study reports. By measuring the amount of antioxidants contained in the most common foods and beverages, and comparing them to U.S. government data on food consumption, researchers found that coffee far outpaced any other beverage or food as the main source of antioxidants in the American diet. "When you look at the quantity of antioxidants in coffee and how much is consumed, it really shines either way," said Joe Vinson, a chemist at the University of Scranton. He presented the results of his analysis Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Washington, D.C. Read more.  I knew it all along.  I also noticed TEA is not mentioned, particularly the green variety some are prone to drink. - 4 years ago

• Too Much Water Puts You At Risk!

  Watch the water intake!  The study is truly amazing.  New research on runners in the Boston Marathon, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms the problem and shows how serious it is. The research involved 488 runners in the 2002 marathon. The runners gave blood samples before and after the race. While most were fine, 13 percent of them - or 62 - drank so much that they had hyponatremia, or abnormally low blood sodium levels. Three had levels so low that they were in danger of dying. The runners who developed the problem tended to be slower, taking more than four hours to finish the course. That gave them plenty of time to drink copious amounts of liquid. And drink they did, an average of three liters, or about 13 cups of water or of a sports drink, so much that they actually gained weight during the race. You need to read the whole article to get the flavor.  - 5 years ago

• Peanuts may help your heart

  "Mothers gave us peanuts and peanut butter. Now, we have figured out that Mom was right. But it took a lot of researchers and universities to figure that out," said Don Koehler, executive director of Georgia's Peanut Commission. When peanuts were out of favor in the last decade, American consumers seemed to overlook the respectable list of nutrients like vitamin E, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and minerals such as copper, phosphorous, potassium, zinc and magnesium. They also are a good source of fiber and protein. Peanuts also have a small amount of resveratrol, the antioxidant in red wine that has been linked to the "French Paradox," a low incidence of heart disease among the French, despite their love of cheese and other high-fat foods. Research at several universities suggests peanuts may help prevent heart disease, that they can lower bad cholesterol and that they can help with weight loss, possibly by making people feel satisfied so they eat less overall. One Harvard study showed an association between peanut butter consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes. Eat your peanuts, but only in moderation.  "The problem is that the portions need to be low so you don't over-consume the calories, that's where the public has a disconnect," said Madelyn Fernstrom, director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "It's a well-spent 200 calories if you can limit it to that. The problem is volume. It's very hard to have a small serving of peanuts, meaning a small handful." - 5 years ago

• Give up exercise?

  I just blogged what I thought about pill-popping, and now this from the “say what“ department.  It is the news that all sloths have been waiting for.  Scientists in Germany have found that too much exercise is bad for you and that doing less could lengthen your life.  In a new book called The Joy of Laziness: How to slow down and live longer, Dr Peter Axt, retired professor of health science at Fulda University near Frankfurt, and his daughter, Dr Michaela Axt-Gadermann, a GP, say that everybody has a limited amount of "life energy" and that the speed with which it is consumed determines their life span. Did you do a “say what“ after reading that? They argue that high-energy activities, such as pounding the treadmill at the gym, accelerates the aging process and makes the body more susceptible to illness.  "A more relaxed way of life is important for your health," said Dr Axt-Gadermann. "If you lead a stressful life and exercise excessively, your body produces hormones which lead to high blood pressure and can damage your heart and arteries." How about after that one?  Did you do a “say what“?  Wait, there's more. Dr Axt-Gadermann said that one key difference between the lazy and those who exercise was that the more active body produces more "free radicals" - unstable oxygen molecules that are believed to speed the aging process.  She added: "Laziness is also important for a healthy immune system because special immune-cells are stronger in times of relaxation than stress. During relaxation or `down time', your metabolism is less active, which means the body produces fewer free radicals.  "If you do a lot of sport or are permanently stressed, then your body will produce more free radicals and that is one reason why your life could be shortened."Dr Axt-Gadermann, 37, and her 65-year-old father, who are both reformed long-distance runners, also say that laughing is healthier than running.  When you laugh, your body produces the hormone serotonin which makes you feel happy and relaxed," said Dr Axt-Gadermann.  "The heartbeat races and blood pressure is raised for a short while, without activating your metabolism and producing the free radicals which spend your life energy. Basically, laughing is a good training session without the negative side-effects." Did I get a “say what“ yet?  Ok, a little bit more. The book also says that laziness is good for the brain. It says that exercise and stress can cause the body to produce the hormone cortisol, which can damage cells in the brain and lead to memory loss and premature senility.  To illustrate the theory that laziness equals longevity, The Joy of Laziness also suggests that early risers are more prone to stress and that late sleepers live longer because they conserve their energy. "People who would rather laze in a hammock instead of running a marathon, or who take a nap instead of playing squash, have a better chance of living into old age." Dr Axt and his daughter advise readers that gentle walking, their own preferred form of exercise, is sufficient to keep people in shape if combined with a sensible diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in protein.  "We try to put our own ideas into practice but this does not mean that we do nothing all day," said Dr Axt-Gadermann. "Laziness should not be to the extreme and work is an important part of life, but recreation and relaxation should not be underestimated."  The Joy of Laziness, which is published tomorrow, will be essential reading for Dan Kieran, the 29-year-old deputy editor of The Idler, a literary magazine. "This book definitely makes sense to me," said Mr Kieran, who lives in south London. "I spend one day a week in the office and the rest of my time involved in a lot of relaxation. Having the right amount of laziness in your life is a vital component to being happy. We live in a culture of guilt, where laziness is scorned.  "However, I firmly believe that we do not need to do half as much exercise as people think and it is very important to just lie down and do nothing sometimes," he said.  The medical establishment, however, is skeptical. Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, said that moderate exercise should not be set aside in favor of lazing around. Did you get that.  The medical establishment is skeptical.  REALLY? Just what we need, a book excusing laziness.  For all you couch potatoes out there, go for it.  Get the book and adopt those practices.  I ask one thing though.  Get a physical this month (a complete physical), adopt the lazy lifestyle promoted above, and check back with me in January, 2006.  Get a physical then (a complete physical), and let me know how it goes. - 5 years ago