benefits

Don’t Like Going to the Gym? Try Body Weight Exercises

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All exercise is beneficial. But even stacked up against other types of workouts, body-weight exercise has a lot to offer. Not only does it provide an excellent work­out, but it can also help you overcome some common excuses for avoiding exercise, like “I don’t have time to go to the gym” and “I don’t have space for a stationary bike at home.” All you have to do is move your body. No matter where you are, you’ve got your body, so you can start exercis­ing anywhere, anytime—in your bedroom when you wake up, in the kitchen while you’re waiting for water to boil, in your hotel room when traveling. That makes it easy to find the time.

Research published in the journal Physiology and Behavior found that, as a form of resistance training, body-weight exercise helps build muscle “independent of an external load.” But it does more than that. When Polish researchers looked at the effects of 10 weeks of body-weight exercises on various physical fitness parameters in a small group of young women, they found improvements in seven out of nine of the parameters. The biggest gains were in aerobic capacity, with a 33% improvement. Muscle endurance, particularly in the core, increased by 11%, while lower-body power posted a 6% gain. Even flex­ibility was better after the training.

Source:Health Beat – Harvard Medical School

Today’s Health Quiz ~ Can You Answer These Questions About an Apple’s Health Benefits?

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Today’s Health Quiz

What Do You Know About an Apple’s Health Benefits?

Today’s Questions: 
QUIZ START

Kindness Works ~ Acts of Kindness are Powerful!

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The research is piling up: Studies have found that being kind can help lower blood pressure and anxiety. Practicing helping behaviors even lessened symptoms of depression in people who had lost a spouse. Experiments show that doing something kind for someone is more likely to boost your mood and lower your stress than doing something for yourself. Plus, a recent sweeping review of data including nearly 200,000 study participants found that prosocial behavior (things like donating money to charity, volunteering, altruism, trust, and compassion) was linked to better physical and mental health.

What makes acts of kindness so powerful? “Each small daily choice we make either nurtures our emotional well-being or aggravates stress, and that helps or hinders our physical health,” Dr. Harding says. Practicing kindness is on the helping side of that equation.

We know kindness triggers a neurochemical response, explains Waguih IsHak, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and editor of The Handbook of Wellness Medicine. Oxytocin and dopamine (two feel-good hormones) get released, and cortisol (a hormone related to stress) falls.

Source: DIGIULIO, S. (2021). HOW KINDNESS CHANGES US. (Cover story). Prevention, 73(12), 28–34.

Kindness Works ~ The Benefits of Being Kind

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Benefits of kindness and compassion

Small acts of kindness can have enormous power for both the person being kind and the recipient, whether that’s a stranger or someone in the same family. Many studies have found that kindness, compassion and giving are associated with:

    • improved happiness
    • good mental health
    • a stronger immune system
    • reduced anxiety, stress and depression
    • improved relationships
    • a longer life

Research also shows that the happiness people get from giving to others creates a ‘positive feedback loop’. The more you give, the more positive you feel. This, in turn, fuels greater happiness.

People who witness or benefit from someone’s kindness and compassion are also more likely to be kind themselves.

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Today’s Health Tip ~ 9 Great Benefits of Onions

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Onions are highly nutritious and have been associated with several benefits, including improved heart health, better blood sugar control, and increased bone density.

What are the 9 Great Benefits of Onions?

  1. Onions are packed with nutrients – Onions are low in calories yet high in nutrients, including vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium.
  2. Onions may benefit heart health – Research shows that eating onions may help reduce heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, elevated triglyceride levels, and inflammation.
  3. Onions are loaded with antioxidants – Red onions are rich in anthocyanins, which are powerful plant pigments that may protect against heart disease, certain types of cancer, and diabetes.
  4. Onions contain anti-cancer compounds – A diet rich in allium vegetables like onions may have a protective effect against certain cancers.
  5. Onions help to control blood sugar – Due to the many beneficial compounds found in onions, consuming them may help reduce high blood sugar.
  6. Onions my boost bone density – Studies show that onion consumption is associated with improved bone mineral density.
  7. Onions have antibacterial properties – Onions have been shown to inhibit the growth of potentially harmful bacteria like E. coliand S. aureus.
  8. Onions may boost digestive health – Onions are a rich source of prebiotics, which help boost digestive health, improve bacterial balance in your gut, and benefit your immune system.
  9. Onions are easily added to your diet – Onions can easily be added to savory dishes, including eggs, guacamole, meat dishes, soups, and baking goods.

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Today’s Heath Tip ~ Want to Delay Aging? Exercise!

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Exercise and Anti-Aging

A Brigham Young University study found that people who ran 30 to 40 minutes at high intensity five days a week were consistently biologically younger than those who followed more moderate exercise programs, or who led sedentary lifestyles. “High intensity” exercise means you work up a sweat and have difficulty holding a conversation.

Not a runner? That’s OK – you can substitute another aerobic exercise, such as:

    • Swimming
    • Bicycling
    • Using elliptical or stair-climbing gym machines
    • Taking classes that get your heart rate up (think: kickboxing and step aerobics)

Whatever you choose, it’s important to do it consistently. To stay motivated, choose an activity you enjoy or that you can do with a friend. And make exercise a priority by setting aside time for it in your daily calendar.

“Even modest aerobic exercise at least three times a week helps prevent issues with strokes, heart attacks, elevated blood pressure and diabetes prevention or management,” said Paul Cheng, MD, a Franciscan Physician Network cardiologist at Franciscan Health Michigan City, noting that such activity also helps with bone density.

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Today’s Health Tip ~ Do You Know the Health Benefits of Your Tea

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Here’s what some studies have found about the potential health benefits of tea:

  • Green tea: Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG and has been widely studied. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol levels.
  • Black tea: Made with fermented tea leaves, black tea has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavored teas like chai, along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce the risk of stroke.
  • White tea: Uncured and unfermented. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to more processed teas.
  • Oolong tea: In an animal study, those given antioxidants from oolong tea were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels. One variety of oolong, Wuyi, is heavily marketed as a weight loss supplement, but science hasn’t backed the claims.
  • Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes. One animal study showed that animals given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol.

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Today’s Health Tip ~ Cinnamon Has Healthy Benefits for You

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Cinnamon Lowers Blood Sugar

Cinnamon is a popular spice, found in all sorts of recipes and baked goods. It contains a compound called cinnamaldehyde, which is responsible for cinnamon’s medicinal properties . Cinnamon has potent antioxidant activity, helps fight inflammation and has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

Cinnamon really shines in its effects on blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon can lower blood sugar by several mechanisms, including by slowing the breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and improving insulin sensitivity. Studies have shown that cinnamon can lower fasting blood sugars by 10-29% in diabetic patients, which is a significant amount 

The effective dose is typically 0.5-2 teaspoons of cinnamon per day, or 1-6 grams.

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Today’s Health Tip ~ Up Your Nutrition with Black Beans

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The Health Benefits of Black Beans

Black beans have been a staple of North American diets for at least 7,000 years. Known as Phaseolus vulgaris in scientific circles, they’re also called “turtle beans” in English and frijoles negros in Spanish. Black beans have a satisfying texture and mildly sweet flavor. They’re also incredibly healthy, providing multiple vital nutrients with minimal fat and sugar. The antioxidants, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates in black beans make them nutritionally powerful. A diet rich in beans can reduce your risk of several serious medical conditions and help your body to process calories more effectively.

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Today’s Health Tip ~ Dreaming Provides Healthy Benefits

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Dreaming is Healing

Research shows that dreaming is not just a byproduct of sleep, but serves its own important functions in our well-being.. . . It’s said that time heals all wounds, but my research suggests that time spent in dream sleep is what heals. REM-sleep dreaming appears to take the painful sting out of difficult, even traumatic, emotional episodes experienced during the day, offering emotional resolution when you awake the next morning.

REM sleep is the only time when our brain is completely devoid of the anxiety-triggering molecule noradrenaline. At the same time, key emotional and memory-related structures of the brain are reactivated during REM sleep as we dream. This means that emotional memory reactivation is occurring in a brain free of a key stress chemical, which allows us to re-process upsetting memories in a safer, calmer environment.

Source: Why Your Brain Needs to Dream (Matthew Walker)

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