Want Firmer, Flatter Abs? Stop Doing Sit-ups – Use This “Hand Trick” Instead

 

hqdefault (4)If you ask just about anyone what their main fitness goals are, flat, toned and defined abdominals is usually at the top of their list. However, from a fitness standpoint, the aspiration for the “perfect set of abs” should be balanced with the type of training that will best enhance the overall strength of the entire core’s function.

04 May 2015

Study Links Potassium to Fewer Strokes in Women

 

vegetables-herbsPotassium is a mineral and an electrolyte that conducts electricity in your body. It plays an important role in heart function, skeletal health, digestion, and muscular function, and is essential for the proper function of all cells, tissues, and organs in your body.

Despite the fact that potassium is available in many foods, especially fruits and vegetables, only 2 percent of US adults get the recommended daily amount of 4,700 milligrams (mg).

04 May 2015

What Are Tomatillos Good For?

 

tomatillos-nutrition-factsIt’s ironic that even though the Aztecs probably used them as one of their staple crops, it may have been Spanish conquistadors who introduced tomatillos (which translates to “little tomatoes” in Spanish) to the New World, after first carrying them back to Spain.

Sometimes called husk cherries or tomato verde, tomatillos are a small, green Mexican fruit with a Japanese lantern-type shell surrounding it…

03 May 2015

Long-Term Use of Pills for Anxiety and Sleep Linked to Dementia

 

benzodiazepines-sleeping-pillsUp to 43 percent of older adults use benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Ativan, etc.) for anxiety and insomnia, often chronically, even though their long-term effectiveness and safety remain unproven.1

International guidelines recommend short-term use of benzodiazepines, because they cause withdrawal symptoms that make discontinuation problematic. Despite this, many seniors take them for years instead of a few weeks, as is recommended…

03 May 2015

The Intermittent Fasting Dilemma: How Many Meals Per Day Should You Eat?

 

meals-per-dayThe intermittent fasting approach has been getting increased recognition these days. But 10 years ago, it was a different story.

When I introduced The Warrior Diet concept about 12 years ago, it was highly criticized by mainstream fitness authorities as an “extreme and dangerous” approach to dieting. Telling people to skip breakfast and lunch was like committing dietary heresy…

03 May 2015

How Home Gardeners Can Change the Local Food System

 

imagesAccording to a survey by Gardeners’ World magazine, 80 percent of gardeners reported being happy and satisfied with their lives, compared to 67 percent of non-gardeners. This feeling of well being can have other more-far reaching implications for your physical health as well. According to research from Johns Hopkins, having a cheerful temperament can significantly reduce your odds of suffering a heart attack or sudden cardiac death.

03 May 2015

Can Water Go Bad?

 

downloadWater is essential for life, and we typically assume that water is “clean” or “good” provided you’re not getting your water from a contaminated source. But can water ever “go bad”?

If you have a water filtration system in your home, it may not occur to you that your water could become contaminated after a while—until you go to clean out the holding tank, that is…

03 May 2015

What Are Beet Greens Good For?

 

beet-greens-nutrition-facts (1)Grown in the Mediterranean region as far back as 2,000 B.C., beet cultivation spread to Babylonia in the eighth century, then to China around 850 A.D.

Beets, along with their greens, belong to the Goosefoot family, known as Chenopodiaceae. Within the botanical family, beet greens are factored alongside spinach, Swiss chard, quinoa…

02 May 2015

Prediabetes Increases Your Cancer Risk by 15%

 

blood-sugar-testMore than one out of three Americans aged 20 and older has prediabetes,1 a condition in which your glucose, or blood sugar, levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as full-blown diabetes.

For those with prediabetes (86 million Americans in all), 15 percent to 30 percent will go on to develop type 2 diabetes within five years. This is virtually always preventable if you change your diet and exercise, however, which is why a diagnosis of prediabetes can be viewed…

02 May 2015

80-Year Olds With 40-Year Old Muscle Mass – What’s Going On?

 

dont-lose-muscle (1)Increasing physical frailty as you age is commonly accepted as “a fact of life.”

Until recently, most studies showed that after the age of 40, people typically lose eight percent or more of their muscle mass with each passing decade.

But newer research suggests that this is not a foregone conclusion.

One recent study of 40 competitive runners, cyclists, and swimmers, ranging in age from 40 to 81, found no evidence of deterioration…

02 May 2015