Wellness
Are Your Kitchen Towels Buggy?
A potential danger lurking in kitchens could put us at risk for food poisoning. Household kitchen towels can expose people to dangerous pathogens, including E. coli and Staphylococcus, according to research presented at the June 2018 annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Towels destined for multiple purposes, such as drying hands and wiping utensils, were found to have a higher bacterial count than single-use towels.
Use Stress to Fuel Peak Performance
You’ve been training for a 10K. You’re ready, but when you show up on race day, your heart is pounding and you feel panicked. What should you do to lower your stress? Some people might say, “Take a deep breath.” We all know that deep breathing to calm the nervous system is a go-to strategy for dealing with stress. But is it always the best strategy?
Can You Benefit From Failure?
Failure: It’s the problematic F-word that the fitness industry rarely cares to discuss. We’ve all experienced failure to one degree or another—and so have our clients. But you’d hardly know it. After all, this is an industry where being positive and motivating is our specialty. We push success, and we push it hard, leaving little room for clients to feel accepted and supported during periods of low success or even spectacular failure. Some people who fall off the workout wagon might simply feel safer fading away from fitness rather than answering to a trainer with a staunch #noexcuses attitude.
A Defense Against Age-Related Slowing
Age-related slowing of movement plays a critical role in the declining health of older adults. Slowing typically begins after age 62 with a marked decrease in gait velocity. It can lead to dysfunction, poor mental and physical health, a loss of independence and higher risk of mortality.
An Action Plan to Combat Adolescent Obesity
Health and fitness professionals can drive positive outcomes and minimize the risk adolescent obesity with these five “rules” for coaching.
Mindful Exercise in the Pool
The sensory-rich pool environment is an ideal setting for mindful exercise and a welcome respite from digital stress.
Obesity Boosts Melanoma Risk
Add this to the list of dangers associated with obesity: New research from Sweden suggests obesity is a risk factor for developing skin cancer, and weight loss—in this case via bariatric surgery—could reduce the risk of malignant melanoma skin cancer, in particular, by 61%.
The study included 2,007 bariatric surgery patients and 2,040 nonsurgery controls whose skin cancer incidence was monitored for 18 years. Aside from the significantly lower risk of developing malignant melanoma, the surgery group saw a 42% reduction in skin cancer risk in general.
Question of the Month
Do you make a point to limit social media use? If so, how do you think that has affected your personal and professional life?
Send your responses to Joy Keller, jkeller@ideafit.com.
Cutting Facebook Lowers Stress Levels
Need to cut some stress out of your life? Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia say that taking breaks from Facebook can help.
Their study included 138 active Facebook users who were asked to either take a 5-day fast from the social media platform or maintain current usage. Each person self-reported on their well-being and stress levels and underwent salivary cortisol tests before and after the intervention.
The Peak of Fitness
The mountains are calling. The jagged and distinctive Dolomite range—part of the Italian Alps in northeastern Italy—features 90,000 acres of mountainous terrain, perfect for outdoor adventure enthusiasts from across the globe, including a dedicated group led by PJ O’Clair, owner of ClubXcel and Northeast Pilates Education Center and a cycling enthusiast.
Too Little Or Too Much Sleep Poses Health Risks
National University College of Medicine in South Korea warns that sleeping more than 10 hours a night might be worse.
The Optimal Amount of Exercise for Heart Health
Arterial stiffness, which increases with sedentary living, is associated with higher risk of heart disease. It’s well known that exercise can help, but how much—or how little—is enough?
“While near-daily, vigorous lifelong (>25 years) endurance exercise training prevents arterial stiffening with ageing, this rigorous routine of exercise training over a lifetime is impractical for most individuals,” noted the authors of a new study, which aimed to determine the least amount of exercise necessary to reduce arterial stiffness.
Exercise Doesn’t Slow Dementia, Say Researchers
Research has supported exercise as having the potential to keep dementia at bay or at least to impede its progression. A recent study suggests that physical activity may not be as effective at warding off cognitive decline as previously thought.
In this study, published in BMJ (2018; 361, k1675), 329 individuals were assigned to an exercise intervention, while 165 subjects received “usual care.” Average age was 77, and each participant had a clinically confirmed dementia diagnosis.
How Fast You Walk May Affect How Long You Live
Want to outwalk the grim reaper? Pick up the pace, say researchers. A new study from the United Kingdom suggests that quicker walking may add years to your life.
The study’s primary aim was to examine the impact of walking pace and volume on all-cause mortality. To determine this, researchers looked at mortality records for 50,225 individuals from Scotland and England who had self-reported their walking data via interview.
Weight Training’s Surprising Effects on Depression
Could a cure for depression be found in the weight room? Data from a study published in JAMA Psychiatry (2018; 75 [6], 566–76) points to that conclusion. The meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials, featuring 1,877 participants, found a link between resistance training (RET) and a reduction in depressive symptoms.
Question of the Month
It will soon be easier for consumers to make better food and beverage decisions when eating out or on the go. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has moved forward with a food labeling law that requires restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts for standard menu items. Proponents say calorie disclosures on everything from muffins to lattes to Happy Meals will offer more transparency and will likely encourage diners to downsize their consumption.
Food, Not Pills
Count this as more proof that we shouldn’t rely on pills and powders to make up for dietary shortfalls.
Are Healthy Eaters Wasteful?
Eating a diet based on whole foods deserves a thumbs-up. What’s hard to swallow, however, is that doing so might contribute to the heaps of food wasted in the United States.
Keto—Fat Chance of Performing Better
The ketogenic diet, a fat-forward meal plan that limits followers to about 20 grams of daily carbs, may help some people shed a little weight (in the short term), but it might not be good news for their athletic pursuits.
Plant Foods Are Good for Our Gut Bugs
Our bodies host a huge population of microorganisms, dubbed the human microbiome. In recent years, the makeup of critters in our guts has been linked to a plethora of conditions, including depression, heart disease and obesity. And now bug-friendly scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have presented initial findings from the American Gut Project, a crowdsourced initiative that analyzes people’s survey responses and fecal samples to better understand how things like diet, lifestyle and disease affect the human microbiome.