Sunday - May 23, 2010

Chilli peppers help burn away the fat

Eating chilli peppers can help dieters to lose weight by raising their metabolism and burning away fat, according to scientists

Researchers have found that the heat generated by peppers can actually increase your consumption of calories and "oxidise" layers of fat.

And for those that don't like the "burn", they have discovered that an equivalent of the main ingredient "capsaicin" occurs in some non-hot varieties of the fruit The heat of pepper evolved to put animals off eating them, but humans have come to like them and they have been a staple of many diets around the world for thousands of years.

Thursday - May 13, 2010

Relieve Muscle Pain With These Simple Tips For Improved Posture

When you were younger I’m sure you heard the phrase “sit up straight.” This is great advice because healthy posture keeps your bones and muscles in alignment. If you often sit or stand with your back and shoulders hunched forward or with a phone cradled between your ear and neck… in time this can lead to fatigue, muscle strain and can even cause displacement of your internal organs.

Monday - May 03, 2010

How Many Calories Can You Burn With These Activities?

As you age staying active should be a priority in your life. By engaging in regular exercise, daily chores, low-impact sports or other activities, you’ll feel more energy and vitality, and the energy will stay with you through more of the day. You’ll feel less need for sugar or caffeine, which can have a major impact on your overall health. Here are some activities and the corresponding caloric burn rate for each, based on a 150-pound person:

Thursday - April 29, 2010

Green Tea Extract May Be More Effective than You Thought

Green tea could raise your energy expenditure, and possibly even help battle obesity, according to a new study.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, was shown to increase fat oxidation by 33 percent.

Saturday - April 17, 2010

Health Tip: Drink Enough Water

Before, during and after exercise

Drinking plenty of water is important, particularly among people who exercise vigorously.

The American Council on Fitness offers these recommendations for how much to drink:

Thursday - March 11, 2010

How to Easily Cut Your Calories -- Eat Slowly

For ages, mothers have admonished children to slow down and chew their food. It turns out they’re onto something. Researchers have found evidence that when people wolf their food, they end up consuming more calories than they would at a slower pace. One reason is the effect of quicker ingestion on hormones.

Sunday - March 07, 2010

As Temperature Plummets, It's Still Safe to Exercise

Just dress appropriately and avoid extreme conditions, expert says

Cold weather shouldn't keep you from exercising outdoors.

"If you are concerned about hypothermia, you don't need to be unless the temperatures are extreme," Gary Sforzo, a professor of exercise and sports sciences at Ithaca College, said in a news release from the school.

"The body produces a lot of heat during exercise and when it produces heat, it pretty much diminishes any chance of hypothermia," he explained. "The key is continuous exercise. If you go outdoors for a walk or run, just move continuously. Don't stop for five or 10 minutes to talk to your neighbor. Hikers sometimes get into trouble if they stop for lunch. As long as you are moving, the muscles produce metabolic heat and that metabolic heat will keep you pretty warm, sometimes to the point where you need to remove clothing."

Thursday - March 04, 2010

Eat More Often to Keep Your Metabolism Up

It’s true: the act of eating – in and of itself – actually burns calories. Digesting and absorbing food accounts for as much as 10 percent of your metabolic rate. If you’re trying to lose or maintain weight, here’s how to use this to your advantage:

Wednesday - March 03, 2010

Strength Training When You Do Not Have Access to Weights

There may be weeks when you just can’t get to a gym. You may be on vacation or traveling on business, for instance.

At times like this, you can fall back on resistance exercises that don’t require weights. These exercises are effective enough to maintain the results you’ve already achieved until you can get back to the gym’s weight room. Here are four classic exercises you can do without weights:

Friday - February 26, 2010

A Running Buddy Makes Good Fitness Sense

No matter what your fitness level, running with a friend offers several advantages:

1. If you’re a beginning runner or trying to jump-start a running routine, a buddy can help you get past motivational obstacles and provide encouragement. It’s important, however, to choose a running companion whose fitness level is similar to yours.

2. If you run regularly already, running with a friend can help you push your own boundaries and run better. Likewise, an experienced running buddy can help you realize if you’re overtraining.

Wednesday - February 24, 2010

Improve Athletic Performance

Contrary to popular belief, running downhill is a much more stressful exercise on the joints and muscles in your feet and legs than running uphill.

To avoid exposing yourself to an undue risk of injury, never run straight down a steep hill. Walk or run down such hills in a zigzag pattern, leaning slightly forward and keeping your knees bent.

Wednesday - February 17, 2010

Quick Facts about Warming Up and Cooling Down

1. Most people associate warm-ups with cardiovascular workouts. You should also warm up before strength-training workouts.

2. At the end of a cardio workout, you should gradually decrease your exercise intensity; do not stop abruptly.

3. Cool-downs help prevent muscle soreness, dizziness and fainting.

Monday - February 15, 2010

Active Folks Have Fewer Colds

A recent study suggests that staying physically active may reduce the number of colds you get. The study participants who were most active had 25 percent fewer colds than those who were least active.

Experts offer this caveat, however: More is not necessarily better. Exercising too much can actually weaken the immune system and compromise its illness-fighting power.

Friday - February 12, 2010

As Obesity Increases, So Does Stroke Risk

Especially high rate among blacks may have genetic cause, researcher says

The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have a stroke, a new study reports.

The study, which followed 13,549 middle-aged Americans for 19 years, looked at stroke risk associated with several measures of obesity, emphasizing body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight and height, but also such measures as waist circumference.

"We found that the risk of stroke was increased with each measure of obesity," said Dr. Hiroshi Yatsuya, a visiting associate professor of public health at the University of Minnesota and lead author of a report published online Jan. 21 in Stroke.

Friday - February 12, 2010

Alcohol Can Undermine Your Weight-Loss Efforts

If your social life is on the upswing and you find yourself having a few more cocktails than usual, it could be working against your efforts to lose weight.

Alcohol can add hundreds of calories to your daily total, often making the difference between weight loss, maintenance or gain. For example, one glass of beer or wine can contain at least 100 calories.

Tuesday - February 09, 2010

More Proof Exercise Leads to Healthier Aging

Good for the mind and body, series of studies finds

Just in case the world needed more evidence on the matter, along come four new studies verifying that exercise is indeed good for you, even critical if you plan to survive to a vigorous, hardy and tough-boned old age.

All four studies appear in the Jan. 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"I like to see this laid out, but every bit of information [already] suggests that being active is the healthier way and being inactive is the abnormal, unhealthy way," said James O. Hill, professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado at Denver. "Exercise is better than any drug or anything else we have for aging. There's no downside. If this were a drug, it would be the safest, most effective drug in the universe."

Tuesday - February 02, 2010

For Fitness, Cutting Calories May Not Be Enough

Study found better health outcomes in those who worked out while dieting

If you're vowing to lose weight this year, consider adding a regular exercise program while you're cutting calories.

Combining the two results in better health outcomes -- such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels -- than simply cutting calories alone, a new study finds.

Monday - February 01, 2010

Memory Loss Can be Reversed -- Just Do THIS

Moderate physical activity performed in midlife or later appears to be associated with a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment -- and a six-month high-intensity aerobic exercise program can improve cognitive function in individuals who already have the condition.

Friday - January 29, 2010

Hazards of Obesity Now Rival Smoking in U.S.

Little difference seen in loss of quality-of-life years between the two, study finds

Obesity now poses as great a threat to Americans' quality of life as smoking, a new study shows.

Researchers at Columbia University and The City College of New York analyzed 1993-2008 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System that included interviews with more than 3.5 million adults. The results showed that the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost to obesity are equal to, or greater than, those lost because of smoking.

Friday - January 29, 2010

Toned mid-section

Trying to develop a lean and toned mid-section? Many people turn to “ab” exercises, such as crunches, that strengthen and tone the abdominal muscles but do not reduce the amount of fat around the  waistline.

There are no exercises that allow you to reduce fat in just one particular area of the body. Therefore, you must combine cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet with your “ab” exercises to develop a mid-section you can be proud of.