New studies on peppermint, the key flavoring in traditional candy canes, reveal the herb may do everything from kill germs to treat digestive troubles. Read more
With New Year's just around the corner, many Americans will be making a resolution to get in better shape. But many people simply do not have the time to hit the gym for hours on end.
Have no fear. Fitness experts Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll of the fitness company Bravabody are masters of The Office Six -- six easy workouts everyone can do while at work to keep that body toned. Read more
Just one extra hour of sleep a day appears to lower the risk of developing calcium deposits in the arteries, a precursor to heart disease, US researchers said on Tuesday. The finding adds to a growing list of health consequences - including weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure - linked to getting too little sleep. Read more
I decided to title this post a ‘Guide to Rockstar Abs’ as I aim to show you simple unconventional ways to achieve strong functional abs not blocky and bulky midsections the magazine’s workouts will get you, Also it sounded cool. Most these training methods can be done without a gym and integrated with you workout. Read more
It sounds too good to be true, but an Australian doctor insists he has created the world's healthiest tipple: a wine that cleans the arteries as you drink it, reducing the risk of heart attack. Read more
Measures to protect children with nut allergies are becoming increasingly absurd and hysterical, say experts.
A peanut on the floor of a US school bus recently led to evacuation and decontamination for fear it might have affected the 10-year-old passengers.
Such extreme steps to reduce exposure to nuts are not isolated and are fuelling fear and anxiety, reports the British Medical Journal Online. Read more
It's not as dangerous as scientists think it should be, and it can even be considered medicine. Also, it may affect different people in different ways.
The more researchers study the effects of marijuana, the more evidence scientists find that specific elements in it can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells. Development of a legal drug that contains certain properties similar to those in marijuana might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Though the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, chronic inflammation in the brain is believed to contribute to memory impairment. Read more
Oh, it was a bad week for modern medicine. But Tara Parker Pope of the New York Times didn’t think so. She wrote an article entitled "News Keeps Getting Worse For Vitamins." (Nov. 20, ‘08 NYT) But then again, we could slip a fast one by Tara any day since she doesn’t know how to read the pseudo-science now being used to denigrate dietary supplements. Hey, Tara, you didn’t say whether YOU take vitamins pills. Never mind surveys show the most educated are more likely to take vitamin pills, or other studies which show the typical American diet leaves most Americans deficient in vitamins C, D, E, B12 and folic acid.
Breast cancer cooking machines
The zinger was the report showing breast cancers just disappear if you leave them alone, stop clamping breasts in mammogram machines, stop zapping women’s breasts with radiation machinery (mammography) and stop lancing breasts with biopsy needles. (Archives Internal Medicine Nov. 24, ’08). Yep, the body’s immune system just engulfs these developing tumors. Read more
One of the greatest bodyweight exercises is the push-up. This is just the beginning of the quality content that I will be providing on this website. I hope this is of help to you. I want to thank my son for being my guinea pig and allowing me to take pictures of him.
Below you will find video for a number of different types of push-ups. If you use your imagination you could probably come up with a few other variations. Please make sure that you do your push-ups with good form. Good form would include a straight back and your head up and looking forward. Do not rush them. Perform them generally with a 1-0-1 count. That would mean taking 1 second to lower, no pause at the bottom and 1 second to raise back to the starting position. If you want a little more of a challenge them perform them with a 2-0-1 count. Read more
Old-time boxers knew what they were doing. According to the Compendium of Physical Studies, jumping rope for 10 minutes can burn as many calories as jogging at an eight-minute-per-mile pace. No wonder many fitness experts call the jump rope the best all-around piece of exercise equipment you can own. Here are five reasons to learn the ropes: Read more
Fact: Every hour of every day, 330 Americans turn 60.
Fact: By 2030, one in five Americans will be older than 65.
Fact: The number of people over 100 doubles every decade.
Fact: As they age, people lose muscle mass and strength, flexibility and bone.
Fact: The resulting frailty leads to a loss of mobility and independence.
The last two facts may sound discouraging. But they can be countered by another. Regular participation in aerobics, strength training and balance and flexibility exercises can delay and may even prevent a life-limiting loss of physical abilities into one's 90s and beyond. Read more
We all know the obvious ways to add years to your life: Don't smoke, eat your veggies, wear a seat belt (even in the backseat). But there are other, lesser-known habits and attributes that can help you live to a ripe old age.
YOU SKIP SODA (EVEN DIET)
I finally kicked my diet cola habit in my 20s, a good thing too, because scientists in Boston recently found that drinking one or more regular or diet sodas every day doubles your risk of metabolic syndrome-- combination of conditions that increase your chances of heart disease and diabetes. Read more
People who are happy, having an active sex life, and who avoid debts, outlive the miserable, abstainers and the poor, as do chocolate eaters, churchgoers and vegetarians. New research shows exactly how many years longer people can live by adopting healthy behaviours – from stopping smoking and losing weight to eating less meat and being positive. Read more
Professor Gary Williamson, from the department of food science at Leeds University, has produced a list of 20 "lifespan essential" foodstuffs.
All are rich in naturally occurring chemicals, known as polyphenols, which have been linked to a variety of health benefits including protection against heart disease.
He said that foodstuffs on the list, which is dominated by fruits and vegetables, can also help to slow down the ageing process by helping to protect cells from the natural damage that occurs over time. Read more
Lack of vitamin D is significantly associated with Parkinson's disease, a study has shown.
Scientists found that lower blood levels of the vitamin were more common in people with Parkinson's than healthy individuals. But whether vitamin D deficiency was a cause of Parkinson's or resulted from it still had to be determined.
The part of the brain most affected by the disease is highly sensitive to vitamin D, suggesting that the vitamin may be important to this region. Read more
I’ve always had issues with evening workouts. At the end of the workout I’m too sweaty and too awake to go to bed, which means I don’t get enough sleep. And since I’m not a morning person, I usually work out in the afternoon. However, I recently found a little evening workout that sounds really promising.
The Key Is Pace
Rather than being an all out workout, this one is more of a stretching routine. It doesn’t involve high weights or high reps, just a low number of reps with body weight exercises done at a very slow pace. In fact, it’s a VERY slow pace. Each rep should take you about 10 seconds, which is slow enough to be relaxing. Read more
This is the story of a man known online as Flash – a man driven to the brink of suicide by the debilitating effects of cluster headaches. After years of ineffectual treatments, Flash stumbled on what he declared was a new treatment, as controversial as it was, he claimed, effective: hallucinogenic drugs.
Flash was ridiculed by the cluster headache community for his "miracle cure". But when a survey of fellow sufferers who self-medicated with hallucinogens was published in the mainstream journal Neurology, the results gave weight to his claims. The Harvard Medical School scientists who conducted the survey have now applied for a preliminary clinical trial on the subject.
Cluster headache (CH) remains an enigma to the medical profession. Read more
... Milk-Thistle, while we're here, is nothing less than extraordinary, considering it can detox your liver while it stimulates the production of new liver cells (for all you ex-drinkers, like me) and about a dozen other things to include being a powerful, immune-enhancing Cancer-fighter.
Silymarin, the group of active ingredients in Milk-Thistle, has been used by Medical Doctors in Germany for almost 60 years to treat all forms of liver disease like hepatitis & cirrhosis. Those Teutons drink a lot of beer & wine. Gee, Zorba lectures all over the world to other MD's... don't they share info? Does Zorba hear a different drummer? Uh, like Merck, you think?
FOODS to eat and foods to avoid: Read more
... Here's the latest on the relatively secret but very real ways vitamin C can improve your health:
1. Burn more fat and keep pounds away.
Researchers in the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University found that research subjects who had low blood concentrations of C burned a whopping 25 percent less fat than those who had plenty of the vitamin in their body. Read more
New ammunition has been added to the battle that is pitting a leading artificial sweetener against sugar, leading the two sides to claim fresh grievances.
The latest salvo comes from Duke University researchers, who have published a study that says Splenda — the grainy white crystals in the little yellow packets — contributes to obesity, destroys “good” intestinal bacteria and prevents prescription drugs from being absorbed.
But the Duke study was financed by the Sugar Association, the lobbying group for the natural-sugar industry and a chief competitor to and legal adversary of Splenda. Read more
Beer quells heart disease and chocolate staves off cancer? Though often tagged with a disclaimer, studies that tell us to eat, inhale and generally indulge in "bad stuff" is music to our ears. So go ahead and enjoy these bad-for-you remedies-everything in moderation, as they say-until the next study inevitably overturns the research. Read more
... The trick to later fitness is, ultimately, to be smart about it. A stupid injury can put you out of commission for weeks or months (instead of hours or days in the testosterone-/estrogen-fueled prime of youth). No matter how old or young you are, proper form and technique are one key to avoiding injury. The other is avoiding the temptation to overdo it in terms of both workout length and weight. It’s better to back off if you’re in doubt rather than risk overdoing it just because some punk at the gym bet his friend that the old guy couldn’t do 35 wide-grip pull-ups. Another critical point: cross training has never been more important. Training your full body will not only allow you to preserve and develop all the muscle groups and fitness dimensions (strength, cardiovascular, flexibility). It will help you avoid injuries resulting from overuse. And now, let’s serve up those Tuesday tips - ten exercises to fuel mature fitness. Read more
Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin. Read more
If you think someone is watching you, you're probably right. But this doesn't mean you're not also crazy, according to psychiatrists who say that our surveillance and reality TV society is spawning a new kind of psychosis. They're calling it the Truman Show delusion.Psychiatrists in the U.S. and Britain say they're seeing a growing number of psychotic patients who are paranoid that cameras are watching their every move. Read more
A vitamin found in meat, fish and milk may help stave off memory loss in old age, a study has suggested.
Older people with lower than average vitamin B12 levels were more than six times more likely to experience brain shrinkage, researchers concluded. Read more
Chemicals in marijuana may be useful in fighting MRSA, a kind of staph bacterium that is resistant to certain antibiotics.
Researchers in Italy and the U.K. tested five major marijuana chemicals called cannabinoids on different strains of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). All five showed germ-killing activity against the MRSA strains in lab tests. Some synthetic cannabinoids also showed germ-killing capability. The scientists note the cannabinoids kill bacteria in a different way than traditional antibiotics, meaning they might be able to bypass bacterial resistance.
At least two of the cannabinoids don't have mood-altering effects, so there could be a way to use these substances without creating the high of marijuana. Read more
This isn’t Philosophy 101. There won’t be any debates or unearthing and dissecting of the secrets of tantric sex. You’re not interested in converting to a tantric lifestyle, but you would like to try some techniques that will enable you to last longer, orgasm harder and leap tall buildings. OK, so you won’t be able to leap tall buildings, but you will be able to keep your pleasure at its precipice while you take her over the edge again and again. If you’re interested in giving her a good time that she won’t soon forget, read on. With these tips, you won’t succumb to sexual pleasures until you’re both gasping and you decide to take that plunge. It’s all in your control. Read more
... The bacterium that causes bad breath feeds on protein, and whether it finds its sustenance in a steak sandwich or the naturally occurring protein in your saliva, you can never fully remove its food source. There are foods other than meat, however, that can either provide a meal for odor-causing bacteria or a friendly environment for them to grow in. We’ve listed some of the most common offenders below. Read more
The most unlikely aid to your leg exercise? Bed pillows--they can make your legs stronger. When men attempted single-leg squats while standing on a cushy surface, their hips and leg muscles worked up to 13 percent harder, report Mayo Clinic researchers. Read more
Does reading in low light really hurt your eyes? How about sitting too close to the TV? (No, and no.) Why are you better off drinking exactly eight glasses of water per day? (You're not.) Thanks to quack culture, the Internet, and well-intentioned but poorly informed relatives, it's become harder than ever to separate fact from fiction. Whatever its origin, misleading health information can cause unnecessary anxiety and distract you from wellness habits that truly deserve your energy and attention. Here's a dissection of six watercooler myths that will give you all the authority you need to refute your brother's latest forwarded e-mails. Read more
When it came to the fitness benefits yoga can or can't provide, yoga teacher John Schumacher had heard it all. A student of B. K. S. Iyengar for 20 years and founder of the Unity Woods studios in the Washington, D.C. area, Schumacher was convinced yoga provides a complete fitness regime. But many people, even some of his own students, disagreed. Yoga might be good for flexibility or relaxation, they'd say, but to be truly fit, you had to combine it with an activity like running or weight lifting.
Schumacher just didn't buy it. Read more
Two nights ago, I had a handful of M&M's. In fact, I can tell you I ate seven of the peanut kind, which is my favorite. Under normal circumstances, I would've simply grabbed a bunch, mindlessly eaten them while talking to a colleague and forgotten them entirely.
Instead, I know the specific number I ate because I am keeping a food diary. I write down everything I consume, with great detail. I had a single packet of ketchup with my eggs the other morning and 4 oz. (113 g) of green-tea-flavored frozen yogurt with my daughter two days before that. I started the diary because I wanted to test the striking new results of a paper published in the August issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Scientists at several clinical-research centers in the U.S. found that dieters who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. Read more
People who want to live a long and healthy life might want to take up running.
A study published on Monday shows middle-aged members of a runner's club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run.
Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers at Stanford University in California found. Read more
WEC fighter Jens Pulver uses this workout to train his entire body in one session with a focus on strength and endurance. The workout is designed to be just as draining mentally as it is physically, so that Pulver develops the mental toughness he needs to get through a strenuous fight.
Warm-up
He starts with sprints to raise his heart rate and engage the muscle fibers that are responsible for powerful, explosive movements. This serves as a warm up for his workout, which consists of five stations of exercises performed back to back. Between exercises, Pulver rests 60 sec. Read more
Athletes and people who exercise not only have better bods — they have better brains too, a host of studies have now firmly established.
A review of studies published earlier this month, in fact, found that a balanced diet and regular exercise can protect the brain and ward off mental disorders.
Other research has focused just on the effects of exercise. The bottom line: Exercisers learn faster, remember more, think clearer and bounce back more easily from brain injuries such as a stroke. They are also less prone to depression and age-related cognitive decline.
But why should a mindless half-hour on a treadmill affect your brain? Read more
Apologies, first, if this answer is not up to the usual high standard. It's hard to concentrate after a week of four hours' sleep a night. And it takes only a couple of degrees: anything much above 18C and half of will us will spend the night tossing and turning.
So how to maximise your chances of a good night's kip in such conditions? The following are culled from a variety of sources - some expert, some I suspect not. But somebody swears by each and every one of them. Read more
Looking to boost your memory and concentration? You're better off eating oily fish twice a week than popping expensive herbal pills or fish oil supplements, according to a consumer survey.
Australian consumer group Choice tested several supplements and found that two weekly servings of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as sardines and salmon, can boost brain function as much as or more than pills containing ginkgo biloba, brahmi and fish oil.
Fish oil supplements were also found to contain less of the maximum daily dietary target of omega-3. Read more
A regular diet of even modest amounts of food containing soy may halve sperm concentrations, suggest scientists.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, found 41 million fewer sperm per millilitre of semen after just one portion every two days.
The authors said plant oestrogens in foods such as tofu, soy mince or milk may interfere with hormonal signals. Read more
New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows the amazing speed that our bodies make body fat from fructose. One of the reasons why low carb diets help you lose weight is that they reduce your intake of fructose.Even though fructose, a type of sugar, is found naturally abundance in fruit, it is also added to many processed foods. Fructose is probably best known for its presence in the sweetener called high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is typically 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. It unfortunately has become the preferred sweetener for many food manufacturers. This is because it is cheaper, sweeter and easier to blend into beverages than table sugar. Read more
Do It Our experts have taken seven moves and created two killer workouts. Do the routines 2 to 3 days a week, alternating between the two versions, so you're never doing the same routine on consecutive workout days. And choose a weight that lets you complete the set with perfect form. Read more
Beyond not recognizing what's wrong, many people also unknowingly learn self-perpetuating behaviors or come up with solutions that hurt more than help.
"When you look at people who are having problems sleeping, a lot of the logical things they are doing to fix the situation actually end up making it worse," says Philip Gehrman, an assistant professor of psychology at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia who treats people with insomnia. Read more
The Pacific Epilepsy Society in affiliation with the Epileptic Foundation of Maui has completed a seven year study on Epilepsy and Seizures, finding that epilepsy is at an all time high in Hawaii and the western states and Pacific Ocean Territories. There has been a 100% increase over the two previous years. See EFM Survey, Freedom of Info Act 2000-2008 & EFM Survey 1999-03
The most profound reason for the spectacular increase in seizures is the inclusion of the drug ASPARTAME in with the new larger sized anti-seizure drugs: DILANTIN, DEPACOAT, TEGRATOL and several others produced by major pharmaceutical corporations. In 2007 the manufacture of Dilantin changed the description of the 100 mg. Dilantin changed the 100 mg white capsule with red stripe to a much larger white capsule, orange on one end, which contains 100 mg of the drug, plus aspartame. 150 people who took the new Dilantin capsule found the seizure rate increased in every case. The Chemical Pharmaceutical Engineer employee, in fear of his job would not reveal his name, but said they were adding aspartame. He said the new larger orange & white Dilantin is also labeled 100 mg, Read more
Short burst workouts work for fat loss while cardio fails.
Why?
In each intense workout, you focus on applying an intense stimulus to the muscles. This creates “turbulence” in the muscles, and requires a lot of energy to repair and replenish the muscles before the next workout. And where does that energy come from? Your fat stores, of course! Read more
From having occasional difficulty sleeping to insomnia, there is a lot you can do to get a better night's sleep, feel refreshed when you awake, and remain alert throughout the day. It's called "sleep hygiene" and refers to those practices, habits, and environmental factors that are critically important for sound sleep. And most of it is under your control.
There are four general areas important to sleep hygiene: Read more
The search for natural alternatives to treat hair loss aims to find alternatives for conventional pharmacological measures, since these often have extreme side effects. One of these alternatives is homeopathy - it can be termed a natural route because this medicinal system utilizes distillations of organic substances. Homeopathy has several treatment modes for addressing hair loss. A qualified homeopath's arsenal of remedies includes fluoric acid, lycopodium, kali carbonicum, kali sulphuricum, natrum mur, phosphorus, selenium and tissue salts. What a homeopath actually prescribes depends on the problem's nature and severity. Read more
Posted in: natural hair loss remedies
Teenagers who excessively use their cell phone are more prone to disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS). Read more
Prep:Load up a bar with 85 pounds.
Have a pull up bar about 200 meters away and on top of a steep hill.
20 Minutes of Doom:
As fast as you can without injuring yourself: Read more
Frequently consuming foods containing soy may contribute to memory loss, British experts say.
[...]
Researchers determined people who ate soy at least twice a day had 20 percent less memory function that those who ate it significantly less. Read more
Men hoping for some fireworks in their love life this Fourth of July may want to skip the burgers and beer at the barbecue and eat plenty of watermelon.
Watermelon may be a natural Viagra, says a researcher. That's because the popular summer fruit is richer than experts believed in an amino acid called citrulline, which relaxes and dilates blood vessels much like Viagra and other drugs meant to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Read more
The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana. Read more
Traditional interval training consists of intense running followed by a period of active rest (ex. jogging or walking). Common distances include 200, 400, 600 and 800 meters. The active rest period typically ranges from 30 to 90 seconds depending on interval distance and the athlete’s condition.
The Interval Challenge (below) differs from the traditional interval training protocol. The workout integrates interval running with a variety of bodyweight calisthenics. There are no defined rest periods between intervals. The athlete attempts to complete the circuit as fast as possible. Rest comes on an as needed basis.
When performing The Interval Challenge, the athlete must complete four continuous circuits. This brief conditioning routine is extremely demanding (physically and mentally). Read more