Recently in Health & Fitness News Category

Do you find yourself crashing in the middle of the day, especially when you are trying to stick to a diet program?  Of course. We all do.  So what types of snacks can we integrate into our program that are tasty, healthy, and give us that push of energy so that we can make it in-between meals and through our day?

Almonds, yogurt, pineapple, whole wheat snacks, and edamame each can be interesting ways to boost your energy, keep you focused, and help fight food cravings that force you to binge.  Almonds are especially tasty with blueberries and you can add flax seed to your yogurt to add much needed Omega-3s.  You can add the pineapple to some lowfat cottage cheese and to sweeten the almond mix, you may add some honey.  Mmmm.

Each of these combinations not only boost energy, but they also help with one's mood, sleep patterns, blood levels, and mental acuity.  Snack healthy and stay fit!

Reasearch has been released suggesting that taking OTC [Over the Counter] tablets that contain ibuprofin, the common ingredient in Advil and Motrin, may cause hearing loss in men under the age of 50 when used as a part of long-term regimens. 

The article urges that one should not discontinue use of OTC medications, especially if the regimen is instated by a doctor.  More testing is necessary to understand the full scope of these findings, but it has been shown as a possible, preventable cause of hearing loss.  Of course, before beginning any type of medication schedule a doctor should be consulted; thus, you will be able to weigh the pros and cons of long-term OTC useage.

This study was only done concerning men: women have a different rate of hearing loss than their male counterparts and more studies need to occur in order to understand the effects in both sexes.   As well, this study was in regards to long-term useage and not at all with ibuprofin as a short-term pain reliever [so don't raid your medicine cabinent, throw your Advil away, and contend with the force of massive headaches].

Michelle Obama has declared that she will try and integrate programs that will combat the rising numbers of childhood obesity.  Her "Let's Move" program has the vision of getting children off of the couch, away from the television, and outside to work towards a healthier lifestyle and a better adulthood.

During Ms. Obama's speech concerning the new program she outlined that, today, one in three children are overweight or obese and are affected in their daily lives by this afflication from teasing in the schoolyard to serious medical conditions that were only seen in adults a few decades ago.  Doctors are seeing a rise in childhood high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, and high blood pressure and the military has cited obesity as a high cause of service disqualification.  With high fat/high calorie foods being increasingly more affordable than healthier choices and schools cutting down on time spent at recess and in the gym, children are placed at a distinct disadvantage.

Ms. Obama has stated that she is enacting the "Let's Move" program in order, "to create a wave of efforts across this country that get us to our goal of solving childhood obesity in a generation."  In one generation she wants to have our country producing children that eventually grow to healthy adults at healthy weights.  She is pointed when she states that the decisions lie with us and our choices: we, as community members, parents, friends, and school teachers have the ability to fight obesity; thus, we should recognize the need and facilitate programs that both fit into our daily routine and also benefit the crusade against this problem.

If your child is overweight, Club One Fitness offers a unique youth boxing program designed to improve children's fitness level, endurance, and hand-eye coordination, resulting in healthier children.  This program is offered Monday thru Thursday at 5:30 pm.

The FDA has approved a new procedure in that is gaining interest in the field of plastic surgery: cryolipolysis.  This procedure actually freezes fat cells and has been shown to decrease pockets of fat by 25% in up to two to four months.

While some doctors feel confident to use the procedure, some are still on the fence citing that there have not been a sufficent number of clinical trials attempted to be given conclusive evidence that this procedure is as safe as conventional fat-removal processes such as liposuction.

This new procedure may cost around $750 up to $1,500, is non-invasive and rather quick, and the patient can expect the usual pain, swelling, and bruising in the area after completion.  It is, however, a spot-reduction process and will not cure obesity, says Dr. Mathew Avram.  The system was developed in order to target those places that have not responded to exercise.  He and Dr. David J. Goldberg, a part of Massachusetts General Hospital's dematology unit have worked together on this project and have tested it on 200 people with great results.

When you are shopping in the supermarket, in search of eggs for that early Saturday breakfast, the urge is to purchase the brown eggs that you associate with health, purity, and "green" sentimentalities.  The designation of "free-range" and "cage-free" on a carton of eggs can mean the difference in price of anywhere from $1 to almost $3; yet, the USDA recently released a study that shows factory eggs are no different from their cage-free counterparts in terms of health and safety.

The brown color of the egg shells associated with health simply denotes a different type of chicken from the white-egg layers and have no added safety or health benefit.  In fact, it takes more food to feed a brown-egg layer and therefore, the higher price of the egg is usually to cover the cost of production; thus, the consumer is paying more for a brown egg simply for the color. So go ahead and buy that carton of white eggs for the family, free and clear of worry, but DO buy them because you need the protien.