Where to buy a stability Ball
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
How to Use A Stability Ball
This video demonstrates how to use a stability ball for a wide variety of exercises.
Where to buy a stability Ball
Where to buy a stability Ball
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Which Sweeteners Are Best?
According to recent studies, many popular artificial sweeteners--such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose--may be detrimental to consumers' health. Dr. David Friedman, health expert on Lifetime Television's popular morning show, "The Balancing Act", recently revealed the three natural sweeteners that he recommends for optimal health and well-being.
In order to demonstrate why natural sweeteners are best, Friedman first explained the negatives of the artificial options.
"Anything labeled 'artificial' is usually created by chemists in a lab, and therefore is not easily digested by the body," explained Friedman. "Additionally, the chemicals in many artificial sweeteners have been shown to actually stimulate the appetite, which is bad news for people trying to lose weight while using these sugar substitutes."
He also explained that many chemicals are used to modify natural sugar in order to make it calorie-free, including: chlorine, acetone, formaldehyde, benzene (a carcinogen found in oil and gas), and chemicals used in engine anti-freeze and windshield washing fluid. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other laboratory studies, a litany of adverse reactions and ailments has been associated with these sweeteners over the past few decades.
The solution? Three natural, low-calorie sweeteners top Friedman's choices for people and families across the nation.
The first option Friedman recommends is Xylitol, which is extracted from the birch tree and sometimes referred to as birch sugar.
Another of his recommendations is agave nectar. Agave nectar comes straight from the agave plant with no chemical modifications, and is sweeter than table sugar.
"Agave nectar is a great option for vegans because unlike honey, it is not an animal product. It also easily dissolves in liquids, so it makes a great sweetener in beverages like iced tea," Friedman said.
The third natural sweetener he recommends is Stevia. Stevia has been used as a sweetener in South America for more than 1,500 years and is sold in the United States as a nutritional herb. Stevia is 100 percent natural and 300 times sweeter than sugar.
"Just one teaspoon of Stevia replaces one whole cup of sugar," explained Friedman. "The calorie savings add up very quickly."
To find these three natural sweeteners, Friedman recommends going to the local health food store
In order to demonstrate why natural sweeteners are best, Friedman first explained the negatives of the artificial options.
"Anything labeled 'artificial' is usually created by chemists in a lab, and therefore is not easily digested by the body," explained Friedman. "Additionally, the chemicals in many artificial sweeteners have been shown to actually stimulate the appetite, which is bad news for people trying to lose weight while using these sugar substitutes."
He also explained that many chemicals are used to modify natural sugar in order to make it calorie-free, including: chlorine, acetone, formaldehyde, benzene (a carcinogen found in oil and gas), and chemicals used in engine anti-freeze and windshield washing fluid. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other laboratory studies, a litany of adverse reactions and ailments has been associated with these sweeteners over the past few decades.
The solution? Three natural, low-calorie sweeteners top Friedman's choices for people and families across the nation.
The first option Friedman recommends is Xylitol, which is extracted from the birch tree and sometimes referred to as birch sugar.
Another of his recommendations is agave nectar. Agave nectar comes straight from the agave plant with no chemical modifications, and is sweeter than table sugar.
"Agave nectar is a great option for vegans because unlike honey, it is not an animal product. It also easily dissolves in liquids, so it makes a great sweetener in beverages like iced tea," Friedman said.
The third natural sweetener he recommends is Stevia. Stevia has been used as a sweetener in South America for more than 1,500 years and is sold in the United States as a nutritional herb. Stevia is 100 percent natural and 300 times sweeter than sugar.
"Just one teaspoon of Stevia replaces one whole cup of sugar," explained Friedman. "The calorie savings add up very quickly."
To find these three natural sweeteners, Friedman recommends going to the local health food store
Thursday, June 4, 2009
How Green Tea can help you to lose weight
With so many fad diets around, green tea stands out with a proven, scientific record and has been used for its medicinal and health qualities for thousands of years.
Unlike other weight loss methods, green tea does not require you to alter your diet; it simply compliments other weight loss efforts such as exercise. Scientific studies have illustrated that green tea contains 2 elements, namely caffeine and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which aid weight loss.
Benefits of green tea weight loss:
Unlike other weight loss methods, green tea does not require you to alter your diet; it simply compliments other weight loss efforts such as exercise. Scientific studies have illustrated that green tea contains 2 elements, namely caffeine and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which aid weight loss.
Benefits of green tea weight loss:
• Burning fat
• Increasing metabolism
• Blocking conversion of energy into fat
• Helping the body reduce dietary fat
• Regulating blood sugar levels
• Reducing food cravings
Replacing traditional cups of tea or coffee with green tea not only helps individuals to lose weight, it also has a host of associated benefits, helping drinkers to be sharper and more alert at work and generally feel happier and healthier.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Living a Healthy Lifestyle on a Budget
Health and wellness is a privilege that everyone should be able to afford even in difficult economic times. With the right experience and know-how, anyone can make smart choices about healthy living while also being wallet wise.
Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg has mastered the art of staying fit, while also being financially responsible. She is a busy mom of three, runs a private practice in New York City and serves as chief pediatric officer for RealAge.com - an informative Web site that helps people live healthier, longer lives. Through her extensive experience of balancing work, life and wellness, she has learned how to keep living a healthy lifestyle, while keeping out of the red.
Dr. Trachtenberg shares her top five tips for staying healthy on a budget:
Tip 1 - Buy Frozen for Good Nutrition
The fresh produce section at the grocery store can be a budgeter's nightmare as pricey fresh foods can really add up. The budget-conscious can find much needed relief in the frozen food section. Frozen fruits and vegetables typically have the same levels of nutrients as their fresh counterparts, because the produce is frozen at the peak of its ripeness, locking in the maximum amount of nutrients .
Tip 2 - Get Fit in the Great Outdoors
No matter what the season, the outdoors is a great place to move your body and bond with family and friends without the confinement and encumbering expense of a gym membership. Calorie-shedding activities can be enjoyed year round:
* Winter - Ice skate at a local rink or work the biceps with some snow shoveling
* Spring - Get some friends together and form a softball league, or ride a bike on weekends
* Summer - Try to walk instead of driving short distances or take up swimming
* Fall - Get some cardio by raking leaves or challenge yourself to participate in a local road race
On rainy or chilly days, visit the local library and check out a workout video. It can be a lot of fun and doesn't cost a thing.
Tip 3 - Let the games begin!
Lately, board games are making a major comeback with the reinvention of the traditional Family Night. Flexing your mental muscle by opting to play cards, trivia games or parlor games of yesteryear can help cut costs on expensive movie rentals and excessive cable charges. Plus, leisure time spent with friends, family and neighbors is always a healthy and fun way to de-stress.
Tip 4 - Drink to your health!
Water is a necessity and getting the recommended eight glasses a day is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Switching from bottled water to tap can save hundreds of dollars (not to mention it also eliminates the amount of plastic bottles that get discarded!). To ensure tap water is healthy and clean, consider a PUR Water Filtration System, which could save up to $600 each year in comparison to bottled water. PUR is certified to reduce many unwanted contaminants to help ensure drinking water is clean and healthy. Visit www.purwater.com for more details.
Tip 5 - Sweet Dreams
Getting much needed sleep no matter what your age is crucial to mental, emotional and physical health. You will feel better, be more productive at work, have increased levels of physical and mental alertness, and your body will get the rest it needs to fight off diseases. For these reasons, make a commitment to schedule your day so you get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Children, depending on age, might require more.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Earth Hour-the world's largest global climate change event
From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, we know that climate change is already impacting life on our planet.
On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm, our employees will take part in Earth Hour-the world's largest global climate change event. By simply turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour at our company buildings and in our own homes, we will join tens of millions of concerned citizens throughout the world in calling for action to save our planet for future generations.
Earth Hour is an event led by the World Wildlife Fund. In 2008, more than 50 million people in 370 cities around the world took part, as the lights dimmed at Sydney's Opera House, Rome's Coliseum, the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even the Google homepage went dark for the day.
This year, Earth Hour will be even bigger. In cities large and small have said they'll participate…with more signing on daily. They will join international cities such as Auckland, Beijing, Bogota, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, and Warsaw.
Energy efficiency isn't just good for the bottom line. We all have a stake in the future of our planet and must learn to operate in ways that don't deplete our world's limited natural resources.
In the weeks leading up to Earth Hour, we plan to take a close look at ways our company can operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce our environmental footprint-not only in our own operations, but throughout our supply chain. Joining Earth Hour is a great way to show our readers and our community that the people genuinely care about their future.
We hope you'll join us in the important and inspiring effort and encourage your own employees, customers and suppliers to take part.
Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and absolutely free. To get more information and to have your business listed among those participating in our community, visit www.earthhour.org /and pledge to turn out all nonessential lights from 8:30-9:30 pm on March 28, 2009.
Don't forget-on March 28th at 8:30 pm, switch off. A simple way to help make the world a better place.
Monday, March 23, 2009
How Not To Weight For The Bus
Let' set the stage. Your downtown and your waiting on the bus. You sit down on a bench and then you notice a sign next to you telling you how much you weight. Sound like fun?
Personally, I think it good advertising from Fitness First
Do you like being humiliated into buying a gym membership? This is the type of fitness advertising that can cross the line, but does it? Do you think this is considered public humiliation?
Read the full story here:
Weighting For The Bus - ANIMAL
Monday, March 2, 2009
Power yoga, the fitness mantra of Bollywood beauties
This is an interesting story on how the Bollywood actors stay fit.
Power yoga, the fitness mantra of Bollywood beauties
Power yoga, the fitness mantra of Bollywood beauties
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Benefits of a Strong Butt
First of all, a strong butt does not mean no butt. Current trends in popular culture, with emaciated models and super skinny actresses, have made real women feel that in any extra "junk in the trunk" is unattractive and undesirable. Not only is this body style not realistic for most women, it is not ideal. In fact, women are genetically predisposed to carry extra weight in their lower bodies to help in childbearing. Additionally, in many cultures a full bottom is considered very desirable and sexy, and a full, round derriere is envied and appreciated by men and women alike.
That being said, a strong, healthy butt offers many health benefits, in addition to making us look and feel better in our jeans. First of all, because of the large size of the muscle group that make up the posterior, the butt muscles make the rest of our bodies work more efficiently.
According to Fred DeVito,V.P. Of Exhale Spa, the Glutteal group (medius, minimus and maximus) form one of the largest muscle groups in the body. Consequently, muscle tone in this area helps to create a strong support base for the pelvic girdle.
DeVito says, "This supportive base relieves pressure on the lower back and also allows for more efficient posterior leg function in movement as well as in standing postures."
Additionally, according to Michael J. Donovan, Ph.D., Presidential Management Fellow at National Institutes of Health, "Strong gluteals can improve your posture, minimize your effort to walk, especially upstairs, and can help with heavy lifting." The "butt muscles" are partly responsible for keeping us upright. Moreover, strong gluteal muscles provide muscular power formost aerobic activities.
A strong butt ensures maximal muscle efficiency. "When the gluteal muscles are weak other muscles are recruited to produce certain movements. These recruited muscles function best in a supporting role, so the result will be weaker and, over time, could develop into a chronic, overuse-type injury," says Donovan. Also, the gluteals stabilize the hip joint and, consequently, play a major role in keeping the knee healthy. Strong gluteal muscles help control hip and thigh movement, preventing the knees from folding inward.
Donovan explains, "This is a common problem in women because the female pelvis is wider than the male pelvis, forming a more acute angle between the hip and knee. Hence, strong gluteal muscles help strengthen the hip joint thereby stabilizing the knee joint and helping to prevent knee pain." In fact, the health benefits of having strong gluteal muscles are so well recognized at this point, that development and strengthening of these muscles is a focus of rehabilitation therapy.
Irv Rubenstein, Ph.D. Exercise Physiology and President of, STEPS, Inc. explains that because "studies show high correlations between non-functioning gluteus medius and acl injury, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and low back pain risk, rehab is now directed toward developing the glute medius first in function, then endurance, then strength."
In addition to the health benefits strong gluteal muscles provide to the overall functioning of other muscle and joint systems, they also perform an important metabolic function and play an important role in weight management.
Accorrding to Fred DeVito, "Because these muscles are large in mass, when toned, they are engines that burn calories for fuel. While all muscles act in this way, the gluteals have the greatest potential for burning calories (even at rest) due to their size and mass." The more muscle you have, the more fat your body is able to burn when you are in a resting state.
Since the glutes are a large muscle group, strengthening and increasing your muscles there will begin instantly burning fat. Carrying around excess body fat wears down your muscles and fatigues your body. By carrying around this extra weight, your body is using up the energy you need to work and play. This fatigue can also affect your mood dramatically. Rob Price at SportsWorkout.com, a certified personal trainer and the author of The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Sports.
Numerous health benefits derive from a healthy, strong butt. In addition to making our posture better, our knees function better, our hips less prone to injury and pain, and our other muscles groups work more efficiently, they also turn our bodies into fat-burning machines that enable us to burn calories even while resting. A follow-up article will discuss in detail easy ways to strengthen these important muscles so that your body can get the full health benefits of having a strong butt. Not to mention, you'll look great in your jeans.
That being said, a strong, healthy butt offers many health benefits, in addition to making us look and feel better in our jeans. First of all, because of the large size of the muscle group that make up the posterior, the butt muscles make the rest of our bodies work more efficiently.
According to Fred DeVito,V.P. Of Exhale Spa, the Glutteal group (medius, minimus and maximus) form one of the largest muscle groups in the body. Consequently, muscle tone in this area helps to create a strong support base for the pelvic girdle.
DeVito says, "This supportive base relieves pressure on the lower back and also allows for more efficient posterior leg function in movement as well as in standing postures."
Additionally, according to Michael J. Donovan, Ph.D., Presidential Management Fellow at National Institutes of Health, "Strong gluteals can improve your posture, minimize your effort to walk, especially upstairs, and can help with heavy lifting." The "butt muscles" are partly responsible for keeping us upright. Moreover, strong gluteal muscles provide muscular power formost aerobic activities.
A strong butt ensures maximal muscle efficiency. "When the gluteal muscles are weak other muscles are recruited to produce certain movements. These recruited muscles function best in a supporting role, so the result will be weaker and, over time, could develop into a chronic, overuse-type injury," says Donovan. Also, the gluteals stabilize the hip joint and, consequently, play a major role in keeping the knee healthy. Strong gluteal muscles help control hip and thigh movement, preventing the knees from folding inward.
Donovan explains, "This is a common problem in women because the female pelvis is wider than the male pelvis, forming a more acute angle between the hip and knee. Hence, strong gluteal muscles help strengthen the hip joint thereby stabilizing the knee joint and helping to prevent knee pain." In fact, the health benefits of having strong gluteal muscles are so well recognized at this point, that development and strengthening of these muscles is a focus of rehabilitation therapy.
Irv Rubenstein, Ph.D. Exercise Physiology and President of, STEPS, Inc. explains that because "studies show high correlations between non-functioning gluteus medius and acl injury, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and low back pain risk, rehab is now directed toward developing the glute medius first in function, then endurance, then strength."
In addition to the health benefits strong gluteal muscles provide to the overall functioning of other muscle and joint systems, they also perform an important metabolic function and play an important role in weight management.
Accorrding to Fred DeVito, "Because these muscles are large in mass, when toned, they are engines that burn calories for fuel. While all muscles act in this way, the gluteals have the greatest potential for burning calories (even at rest) due to their size and mass." The more muscle you have, the more fat your body is able to burn when you are in a resting state.
Since the glutes are a large muscle group, strengthening and increasing your muscles there will begin instantly burning fat. Carrying around excess body fat wears down your muscles and fatigues your body. By carrying around this extra weight, your body is using up the energy you need to work and play. This fatigue can also affect your mood dramatically. Rob Price at SportsWorkout.com, a certified personal trainer and the author of The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Sports.
Numerous health benefits derive from a healthy, strong butt. In addition to making our posture better, our knees function better, our hips less prone to injury and pain, and our other muscles groups work more efficiently, they also turn our bodies into fat-burning machines that enable us to burn calories even while resting. A follow-up article will discuss in detail easy ways to strengthen these important muscles so that your body can get the full health benefits of having a strong butt. Not to mention, you'll look great in your jeans.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
How To Find Healthy Restaurant Food Choices Fast
The average American eats around five meals at restaurants each week. GoodFoodNearYou makes eating healthy restaurant food convenient. GoodFoodNearYou displays localized search results of the healthiest food at the restaurants closest in distance. The GoodFoodNearYou search empowers people to make smart, fast and healthy dining decisions. GoodFoodNearYou also displays the menus for every restaurant listed in the search results and the typical nutritional values for each menu item including fat, calories and carbohydrates.
Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD, a sports nutritionist and nutrition author says, "If you are looking for food help when you are on the go, GoodFoodNearYou.com is a handy tool. Calorie and health conscious eaters can find menu options in local chain restaurants that will support their nutritional diet goals".
GoodFoodNearYou has the food and nutrition information for 33,000 food items at approximately 220,000 U.S. restaurant locations including popular casual dining restaurants, fast food restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores. A search on GoodFoodNearYou results in twenty of the healthiest food options at the restaurant locations closest in distance. To fulfill specific diet requirements, search results can be sorted by lowest fat, calories or carbohydrates.
"GoodFoodNearYou came about because of a need we had in the office when trying to order healthy food for lunch," explains Nick Desai, CEO of Global Fitness Media, the company that developed GoodFoodNearYou. Desai is the Founder, Chairman and former CEO of Juice Wireless and inventor of JuiceCaster, an award winning mobile social networking service offered by AT&T, T-Mobile, Nokia and others.
Desai continues, "Diets often fail because they do not fit into your lifestyle. You end up doing what is convenient, rather than what is healthy. We took the convenience of the web and made healthy restaurant food options accessible. We are excited to launch GoodFoodNearYou as there is a great demand for simple lifestyle solutions and location based help with dieting and weight loss".
Lifestyle and technology trends indicate that local search and web and mobile browsing are used more commonly for seeking out information. GoodFoodNearYou improves public access to useful local restaurant food and nutrition information.
"GoodFoodNearYou is a product that reflects the variety of ways people use technology to find information. Global Fitness Media developed mobile application versions of GoodFoodNearYou for GPS enabled devices like the Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry Curve because mobile browsers on cell phones are often used to access location based information on the web," explains Desai.
Start Your Search Today Go To: GoodFoodNearYou
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