Diet Plus Exercise Improves Strength in Obese

The article provides great information how regular exercise in addition to a change in diet is found to be most effective rather than having just one exercise or diet alone. It is said that it helps obese older adults improve their physical functioning. Testing was focused on obese elderly individuals, to try to find an increase in their physical abilities. It seems only sensible to most of us that diet and exercise is together is always the best way to go. But then I learned that it has been thought to be different for overweight people who are advanced in years. Weight loss for them can be less beneficial as it may mean the loss of muscle mass and a decrease in their abilities to function physically. So a better diet and in increase in physical activity really does help them to gain strength, allowing them to take better care of themselves–something all elderly individuals wish to be able to do.

Video: David Murdock’s Diet and Fitness Routine

Please click on this link:

http://www.oprah.com/health/David-Murdocks-Diet-and-Fitness-Routine-Video

Do Shopping Trips Help You Live Longer?

I assume that many of us enjoy shopping. Have any of you asked yourself why you like shopping? If you think of this, the first thought that may come to mind is- “It is fun. I like to find sales. I want to look trendy.” Well, according to this article researchers have found that not only shopping is fun but frequent shopping also helps us to relieve stress, take a break from daily problems, and prolong our lives. It isn’t even necessary to purchase something when you shop, for it to do good. People who shop are also likely to have some other healthy behaviors, like have a network of friends to socialize with, increasing emotional health, and are more likely to take part in regular exercise.

Crave Caffeine? It May Be in Your Genes

“Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume.”

DNA may play a large role in determining how much caffeine people consume in beverages like coffee, tea, and soda, and foods like chocolate. So people who drink and eat a lot of caffeine may not do so only because of a simply lack of self-control. It may be very hard genetically for them to resist. Of course, this isn’t a good excuse to not even try to resist. It’s easy to say, “I have to drink 3 cups of coffee a day or have chocolate after every meal because it’s in my DNA and I can’t help it.” But no one should ever think they have no control over what they consume–that can be very dangerous and unhealthy. It may be harder for them to resist than others, but it is possible and gets easier as they do. 

Periodic Fasting May Cut Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes

This is a very interesting article, researches have found that “People who fast have lower rates of coronary disease, and fasting was associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes”. Research was done in Utah, where it  has been found to have the lowest cases of heart disease compare to the rest of US. This has been the case for a while, and it has been thought that it was because most Utahns don’t smoke. But as smokers have decrease in number all over the country, the results have remained the same–Utah beating out all other states. And now it is thought Utah’s low cases of heart disease can be attributed to once a month fasting in the LDS church. I must admit, this is a very good additional incentive for me to fast each month. I’ve known the religious and spiritual benefits of fasting for a long time, but it can still be very hard some Sundays when my stomach is growling uncontrollably and all I want is to open the fridge and find something to eat. Now I know that additional benefits of fasting–good for my physical health as well.

Weighing the Evidence on Exercise

“Exercise burns calories, no one doubts that, and so it should, in theory, produce weight loss, a fact that has prompted countless people to undertake exercise programs to shed pounds. Without significantly changing their diets, few succeed.”

New research suggests that exercise alone won’t make you thin, but it will help you to stay thin, once you’re there. Many people aren’t willing to change their diets but want to lose weight, so they start exercising more, thinking that’ll give them the results they want, and usually they end up being disappointed before. I’ve tried this before, and it didn’t work. Often times when people start exercising more without really thinking about their diet as well, they end up eating more than they did before. Even if they don’t realize it, subconsciously they may think, “I exercised today, lost calories, so it’s okay for me to eat more than usual.” Exercise also creates an increase in appetite, as it gets the metabolism going faster for a while afterward. In order to lose weight, people mush satisfy their appetite by thinking about eating healthy, nutritional foods rather than quick, packaged junk foods.

Is Marriage Good for Your Health?

Studies of British epidemiologist, William Farr, were among the first scholarly works to suggest that there is a health advantage to marriage and to identify marital loss as a significant risk factor for poor health. Married people, the data seemed to show, lived longer, healthier lives. “Marriage is a healthy estate,” Farr concluded. Being married myself, I can see why this would be. It’s wonderful not to feel lonely, to always have someone you can count on and trust, to have someone with you who you care about more than anyone else and know that they feel the same way about you. Not only is my wife good for my emotional and mental health, but also for my physical health. We help each other stay healthy by running together and eating healthy food together and encouraging each other to do so. More recent research has been done on the subject, and it is found that unhealthy marriages, ones that cause a lot of stress, can be very bed for a person’s health. 

More Music, Less Reading in Kids With Depression

As technology moves its way, music among children is becoming more popular and best engagement whether they are in school, home or with friends. Books  continue to loose children interest and instead children are more engaged in listening to music.  This article provides good feedback and recent research where they found that children become more depressed listening to music rather than reading good books.

Recipes and strategies for a healthy, tasty brunch

Brunch is a delicious meal that combines both breakfast and lunch. Personally, I love the idea of combining two meals, because you can eat more than you probably should in one sitting without having to feel bad about it. But brunch is usually a “special occasion” meal–usually not eaten every day. However, just because it’s for a special occasion doesn’t mean that you should eat a bunch of pastries and doughnuts and fatty foods, justifying that “I don’t usually eat like this.” As life gets busier every day for many of us, a lot of times we neglect the importance of healthy cooking, eating, good nutrition and its rewards. We resort to quick foods that aren’t necessarily very good for us. This article provides great cooking tips, recipes ,  including quick-to-make recipes, as well as excellent ideas to stay healthy and enjoy healthy rewards.

Food addiction may have impact on the brain

I found this article very interesting and informative.  We all now that drugs and alcohol are very addictive, which is a big reason we need to stay away from them. But we don’t usually think about food as having the same ability to addict its consumers. However, scientist have shown that Food Addiction can often be as addictive as drugs and alcohol. I have said before that I’m “addicted to beef,” and my wife is “addicted to sweets,” but I never really used the word “addictive” seriously in these contexts. I figured with a little self-control and desire and a good enough reason to stop eating these foods we’re “addicted” to, my wife and I could both stop eating beef and sweets at any time. But now I wonder if maybe it wouldn’t really be that easy…

Our country suffers from wide spread obesity and over-weight people. The article suggests that maybe it would be much more effective for some of these people to attend classes and join groups for breaking addictions, rather than just going through the typical lose-weight process of diet and exercise, as this simply may not be enough.

Video: Food Addiction and the Brain

Sorry, i could not upload this video, please click on this link:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/food-addiction-brain-11580357

Meditation can help reduce pain

I’ve never really tried out meditation before, but it seems like it would be a nice and beneficial thing to do. I certainly know the benefits of going outside and taking some deep breaths of fresh air or taking a break from life’s demands for a few minutes just to sit and think and let my mind wander. Meditation, of course, is when you’re supposed to focus on your breathing and not let your mind wander. But this takes some practice, and the mind can wander as long as you let each thought pass on by so that you can continue to focus on breathing. This was an interesting article to learn that even just an hour of meditation can provide enough relaxation and focusing strategies, that it can help the individual later feel a reduction of pain, anxiety, and improve better brain function.

Studies were done where meditation reduced acute instances of pain and even the pain after operations, but it’s not yet known how or if it can help people who suffer from chronic pain. It would be wonderful it it could however. I know some people who have suffered from aches and disease and pain in their bodies for years, and no matter what they’ve tried or what amount of money they spent, the pain never stopped. Meditation would be an inexpensive and naturally wonderful way for these people to have a break from a life of pain.

Video: Meditation can ease pain

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http://video.app.msn.com/watch/video/study-meditation-can-ease-pain/6dbosap