Hitting the gym for better weight control? Try thinking about it as “fun and pleasurable” and not “exercise” for best results. In an intriguing series of two separate experiments, researchers from Cornell’s famed Food and Brand Lab found that we eat significantly more after physical activity perceived as “exercise” vs. the same activity perceived as “a pleasurable pastime”. In the […]
Your weight status in young adulthood appears to have a significant influence on your future risk of several major cancers. That was the conclusion of an illuminating, new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. For this study, scientists followed the body weight (BMI) and cancer status of over 220,000 adults for an average […]
Exercise is simply stellar for weight control. Check out all the different ways exercise can help you stay lean! Exercise burns calories. Exercise enhances insulin sensitivity (insulin action) which boosts calorie burning potential. Exercise builds lean body mass (muscle). The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. Muscles burn fat very effectively […]
Based on the latest science, the single most powerful predictor of functionality in older age is strength capacity. Let me repeat – as we age, maintaining muscular strength is the most important factor in maintaining independence. Unfortunately, the average person becomes more sedentary with age which accelerates the loss of muscles mass and strength that […]
Plant-based diets are all the rage and deservedly so. Studies continue to pour in supporting the power they bestow to keep us healthy and disease free. This month we have two new, big ones to add to the list. In the first, scientists followed the diets and health status of over 10,000 US adults from […]
The huge ecosystem of microorganisms that reside in your gastrointestinal tract (your microbiome) largely define your health destiny. Think of them as your most valuable partner in health and healing. What defines a “healthy microbiome” is having a broad array and an abundance of “good” bacteria in your gut – diversity and high numbers. The […]
The power of healthy living to prevent our most dreaded chronic diseases has received resounding scientific validation. In a landmark report, scientist identified five cardinal behaviors that if practiced throughout adult life, could slash the risk of our most life-robbing and deadly diseases by 60 to 70%. For this evaluation scientists carefully monitored the health and […]
As the wife of an ophthalmologist, I have a special appreciation for the value of good eyesight, and a study suggests that lifestyle factors under our direct control may help protect our vision. For the evaluation, researchers tracked vision and lifestyle factors in nearly 5,000 US adults over a 20-year period. Study subjects who […]
Midlife weight gain is one of the most predictable and unhealthy accompaniments of aging with most people gaining at least a pound or two a year. Unfortunately, midlife comes with a convergence of many different forces that bear on our waistlines – tipping the scales in the positive direction. The six primary drivers of midlife […]
As even small amounts of excess body fat (especially if deposited in the belly) can boost your risk of a laundry list of deadly diseases – awareness of simple strategies to power up your metabolism can be very healthful. Simply stated – your metabolism is how many calories you burn for the production of energy […]
An alarming, new study from Harvard researchers suggests that a commonly used food additive, propionate, may drive the development of obesity and weight gain. For their initial investigation, the researchers first administered propionate to a group of lab mice. Shortly after receiving the propionate, the mice experienced a surge in their stress hormone levels, which […]
Thankfully great news on exercise is always forthcoming and here are three notable headlines: An analysis involving a total of 218,000 study subjects found that regular physical activity can stifle the effects of the powerful FTO gene. The FTO gene is one of the most common and well-documented genetic markers for obesity risk. (Another remarkable […]
