Dark Side Of Fitness Trackers May Be More Sinister

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Dark side of fitness trackers may be something more sinister than what many people think, but that which depends as to how they make it a part of their everyday lives.

Dark side of fitness trackers can change your perspective

After all, who can blame electronic device companies for developing these nifty electronic devices that you wear on your bodies to help you track and measure the effects of your daily physical activities, diet and more.

New generation wearable technologies continue to grow more advanced day in and day out, with one similarity altogether that it is attached to your body, either as a bracelet on the wrist, a tracker doubling as a digital watch and later one some type of fabric material that you wear like clothes or sports apparel.

With more innovations that takes off from ideas to actual devices, people get to see more of it immersing slowly into the human body as an ‘always on, always on me’ component.

Are people prepared for a 24-hour monitoring device attached to the body? 

A recent study conducted by news network CNN involved some 200 women who were asked to wear an activity tracker called Fitbit.

Many avid fans claim that they have come to embrace the idea of having it as part of their daily wear or those that even believe it has become a part of their bodies.

No less than 89% of these women have come to accept it as part of themselves and taking it off only to charge batteries.

The study also reveals that their wearable Fitbit has made a profound impact on their daily living and decision-making, especially when it comes to their physical activities and even their diet management.

Taking control of daily physical activities accounted for 91% of the participants, who took longer walks and increase their steps, while 51% accounted for increased exercise activity.

On eating habits, the study showed 76% changed their eating habits by switching to healthy food items and took in smaller portions with fewer takeaways.

Becoming too attached

The study also showed a darker aspect of wearable technology, without Fitbit, the 45% of the women felt ‘naked’ without it, while 43% also felt helpless and neglected their physical activities. Some 22% of them felt less motivated to do their exercises without it.

Here’s more, 79% of them felt the pressure to hit their daily goals recommended by Fitbit, while 59% admitted Fitbit controlled their daily fitness routines and 50% of them said Fitbit made them feel guilty about themselves.

It may be too early to see this massive impact on people considering the small number of participants for the study, but it does paint a disturbing picture of how a small device could impact one’s general well-being.

The post Dark Side Of Fitness Trackers May Be More Sinister appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Apple Cider Vinegar Research Proves Health Benefits

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Apple cider vinegar research conducted by a couple of doctors in simple yet revealing tests to determine the obvious health results of this wonder acid.

Apple cider vinegar research shows compelling results

It may have been a simple research conducted by two doctors but it definitely had the impact of filtering the obvious truth in the many health claims about apple cider vinegar.

BBC medical correspondent Michael Mosley teamed up with Dr. James Brown from Aston University to test the veracity of popular health claims afforded to the quintessential apple cider vinegar.

Can it help drop blood sugar levels?

Dr. Brown and Mosley tested the claim by asking volunteers to participate in a simple experiment where they were asked to eat two bagels then go on fasting overnight without taking in any food or water after it.

All participants’ blood sugar levels were measured before and after eating the bagels and as expected, blood sugar levels went up significantly.

The following day, they were then asked to eat two bagels together with a few milliliters of water-diluted apple cider vinegar before consuming the pastry. After a few days, they did the same tests but this time replaced the apple cider vinegar with malt vinegar.

The verdict – apple cider vinegar had a significant effect in reducing the blood sugar levels by as much as 36 percent within a period of 90 minutes. Malt vinegar did not fare as much, not even by a mile.

They surmised that it may have been the acetic acid in the apple cider vinegar that suppressed the breakdown of starches which means that if apple cider vinegar is taken just before eating a meal rich in carbohydrates, it would reduce absorption of sugar.

How about weight loss, inflammation and such?

With a team of 30 volunteers and formed into three groups. One group was asked to take in two tablespoons of cider vinegar diluted with 200 ml of water twice daily before meals. The second with malt vinegar and the third group given a placebo of food-coloured water without them knowing it.

After two months, no changes occurred in weight. It was the same with results of a blood test taken to measure a protein called the C-reactive protein (CRP) which is an indicator for inflammation. There was a negligible reduction in CRP levels but not much to impact inflammation in the system.

Promising results for cholesterol reduction

Another test, however, showed that there was an average 13% reduction in the amount of total cholesterol, highlighted by a stark reduction in the fatty triglycerides – enough to keep harmful cholesterol levels down and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The post Apple Cider Vinegar Research Proves Health Benefits appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Breaking Comfort Zone Barrier Needs You To Take A Bold Step

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Breaking comfort zone barrier means headstrong decision to resolve empowering yourself in doing things that take you out of your usual norm.

Breaking comfort zone barrier needs more than perspective

Oftentimes, fear takes the best out of a person and acts as the primary factor to limit oneself from doing things they think they could not do.

What usually follows is that instead of dipping their toes, they simply shrug it off and refuse to risk and refuse to step out of their comfort zones.

The difference between dreaming the life or living the dream

This is where people start to draw the line between wallowing in wishful thinking and actually taking the bold step to try out new things.

Behavioural experts believe that this is often the result of mental hang-ups or past experiences that cause people to resist changes. Many people think that this may just be a mental resolve they need to face but is in fact something that holds them back.

Many people usually get to think back and reminisce the opportunities wasted, more often than not resulting to frustration or depression.

Take that leap of faith

But as life would have it, destiny needs to be embraced and you need to resolve the idea that you have actually no total control of what life has in store for you in the days to come.

Take that bold step to step out of your comfort zones and face life head-on. Fear is common, but don’t let it rule your life. You don’t have to box yourself inside the four corners of your home. You need to step out and smell the roses.

Have fun, laugh more

A happy disposition does not only lift your mood, it does give health benefits that you may unexpectedly find.

If you are trying to get over stage fright or public speaking, then do something to get up on stage and conquer that fear. Do what you can to experience challenging your fear. You may tremble or feel butterflies in your stomach, but it will eventually let you embrace it.

Allow yourself to experience the fun in living, laugh with others and feel the weight fall off your shoulders. Let go of stress and reap the benefits of a good well-being.

Take on a sport or activity that gives you the jitters

You may find yourself too engrossed with holing yourself up, but getting up and doing something you least expect to be doing can in fact help mentally and emotionally.

Be it paragliding, bungee jumping, race car driving or even just a simple activity to keep the body going, it will help a lot in getting you to step out of your comfort zones and realizing the life that have just been your stuff of dreams.

The post Breaking Comfort Zone Barrier Needs You To Take A Bold Step appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Tips For Building Endurance To Maximize Your Stamina

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Tips for building endurance, however, need to be backed up with actual science to allow it to work effectively for you.

Tips for building endurance to optimize workouts

Endurance, also known as stamina, is the ability of being able to sustain a physical activity over time. Training for endurance is of primary importance to workouts as it is responsible for developing the slow-twitch muscle fibers in the body.

It increases blood circulation to the tendons, ligaments and muscles, allowing nutrients, amino acids and minerals to be transported all throughout the entire muscle network.

Combine strength and cardio workouts

The more you engage your muscles, the more it works the cardiovascular system, as well as the heart that needs to pump more blood effectively to circulate properly.

Many fitness experts believe that adding strength to cardio days in your training workouts can do the job to help you develop more stamina.

You can jump rope for a minute, followed by squats, the overhead presses and the capped off with sit-ups.

You can also do bench presses, followed by pull-ups, then sprint a mile, then repeat the process.

Reduce number of rests in between sets

The standard rest period is often between 30 to 90 seconds in between sets for recovery. Reducing the number of rests in between sets can greatly help build your stamina.

It is suggested that you take rest only when you get to feel failure of activity.

A workout example is 10 pull-ups, 10 squats, 10 push-ups and 1o sit-ups. Perform a 3 back to back to back sets without resting or take a minimal break if your body can’t physically take it at first.

Rapid-pace high-intensity weights

Do your weight training at a fast pace to help you achieve your endurance goals. It is also effective at boosting your metabolism.

Aim for compound exercises rather than isolation.

Push ups, pull-ups, squats, and step ups, among many others, involve activity for more than just one joint, which make up compound moves. Isolation exercises only focus the exercises into one targeted area and does not often bene for the muscle group intended.

Engage in hybrid exercises and add explosive movements

You can do a squat with bench presses combined, jumping pull ups, lunges with bicep curls, etc. These hybrid exercises can surely lit up your spirits and add explosive movements, that way, you continue to stretch and work your muscles to the limits.

The post Tips For Building Endurance To Maximize Your Stamina appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Progress Against Brain Plaques The Next Step In Alzheimer’s Treatments

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Progress against brain plaques by researchers may be able to help treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease as an experimental drug was able to reduce the amount of toxic plaque in patients’ brains.

Progress against brain plaques may be a gigantic breakthrough

In a report published in the journal Nature, researchers from biotech company Biogen, show that an experimental drug that goes by the name aducanumab,was able to dramatically drop the amounts of toxic plaque in the brain of several Alzheimer’s patients.

A small number of patients received high doses of the experimental drug, with even more promising results that it may also slow down memory loss and cognitive abilities.

Dr. Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, points out that this development could be a ‘game-changer’ in Alzheimer’s disease research.

Reiman also suggests that since the test results were only from a handful of patients, he is looking forward to having more trials to make conclusive evidence that aducanumab would actually be effective against slowing down the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Promising future for Alzheimer’s patients

Biogen officials claim that the research into aducanumab involved some 165 patients diagnosed with the condition, expressed their caution about their interpretation of the test results.

“We think we have something important here,” says Dr. Alfred Sandrock, chief medical officer for Biogen. “We hope we’re right because if it’s true it would benefit millions of patients. But we don’t know we’re right yet.”

The medical community expressed elation over this recent discovery, pointing out that billions of dollars have been spent on many research to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to no avail, until now.

It was only very recently that Biogen started to present the results of their ongoing study with aducanumab and have been touching base with different medical groups, including the recent gathering for the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Ongoing studies

Biogen is currently involved in two large-scale studies focusing on aducanumab with test participants of around 2700 patients, for which the results are still expected to be analyzed in several years.

One of the most striking feature of aducanumab is the ability to ignore benign amyloid proteins and attack only the toxic ones responsible for brain tissue damage.

It was also found to enhance the ability of healthy immune cells into devouring toxins that include amyloid.

The post Progress Against Brain Plaques The Next Step In Alzheimer’s Treatments appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet Prevents Death After Heart Attack

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Benefits of the Mediterranean diet has made it earn its reputation as today’s rockstar diets that are gaining worldwide popularity and is even more pronounced with its link to better health.

Benefits of the Mediterranean diet can prevent death

It may be a tough one to sell, but the benefits of a Mediterranean diet have indeed been found to greatly reduce the risk of death among those who suffer heart problems, particularly those who have suffered an episode of a heart attack.

Scientists have found that food selections that make up the Mediterranean diet contains healthy levels of statins- which are active compounds that help clear the arteries and blood vessels of unwanted cholesterol that blocks the passages and restricts the flow of blood.

Make no mistake that a Mediterranean diet is not as complicated as one may think, which mostly incorporates the basics of healthful eating with healthy fats like olive oil and a quintessential glass of red wine.

Traditional Mediterranean methods also play a key role in this diet using less unhealthy ingredients and condiments.

Among the other healthy options often found in this diet are vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains and little to no amount of unhealthy fats for the body.

Highlights of the Mediterranean diet

Getting to know the diet is very simple and focuses on a few things that are critical to help get the ideal health benefits;

• Regular exercise
• Moderate drinking of red wine, which is optional, but has been found to help the body additional antioxidants from catechins found in fermented grapes.
• Eating more plant-based foods like vegetables and fruits, legumes, whole-grains and nuts.
• Eliminating butter from the diet and replacing it with canola or olive oil
• Substituting salt with herbs and other spices.
• Consumption of poultry and fish limited to twice a week
• Enjoying meal time with family or friends

Other health benefits of the Mediterranean diet

Numerous studies have come out regarding the many health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

It has been found to help prevent type 2 diabetes because of the increased intake of fiber in one’s diet, prevents cardiovascular diseases due to eliminating processed foods in one’s diet, reduces risk for brain degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

The post Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet Prevents Death After Heart Attack appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.

Neonic Pesticides Killing Bees Taking Active Public Action

http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Neonic pesticides killing bees have gained notoriety as one of the primary substances responsible for wiping out large populations of honeybees in the United States and resulted to low production of honey in the market.

Neonic pesticides killing bees may soon be difficult to circulate

Although the Environmental Protection Agency has taken steps to study the effect of neonicotinoids as pesticides, it has not imposed any restriction to inhibit the use of these pesticides.

Also known as neonicotinoids, neonics are commonly used as an effective pesticide that creates an outer layer of protection on corn and soybean seeds.

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton issued a directive to step into establishing the needed restriction on the use of neonics in agriculture.

If there is a compelling need to use neonics for some plantations, farmers are required to declare and justify the need for them to use these pesticides.

Consequently, the Department of Agriculture orders that they will increase their regular inspections and strengthen enforcement to make sure that agricultural practices limit, better yet, to avoid using neonics in their farms.

Legislature needed to uphold the restriction

Legislators are now looking into legal steps to ensure that more states are taking action to in still measures that would strongly regulate, or better yet, restrict the use or neonic-active pesticides in the agriculture industry.

This also came in heels pf legislation was passed by the Maryland General Assembly restricting the sale and use of pest control products using neonics, while other states are also looking at pollinator health in order to follow suit according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Obama administration has already instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the actual impacts of pesticides containing neonicotinoids, especially on the population of bees.

Studies show that neonics can adversely affect a bee’s health, making them vulnerable to microscopic mites or other environmental threats.

Ortho has already started the phasing out of neonics in their pesticide formulations. Whole some of the products will be reformulated, others will be discontinued as early as 2017. The company assures that it will finish the phaseout of neonicotinoids in their products by 2021.

Today, many beekeepers wake up each day with the uncertainty of what the coming production season would bring as losses as starting to increase by as much as 25% each year – from honeybee mortality to hive damage.

For several years beekeepers have been suffering huge losses, especially during the winter season where based on statistics, beekeepers are losing almost a third of their hives due to honeybee mortality and hive damage and replacing damaged stocks are costly.

According to a recent report by the Bee Informed Partnership, a non-profit group of research centers and universities, revealed that beekeepers are having an average of 30% losses every year ranging from a lot of actors like climate change, parasites, pesticides and loss of forage, among others.

The post Neonic Pesticides Killing Bees Taking Active Public Action appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.