Swimming is a great exercise for lots of muscles all over our bodies. It can also be great for our minds. Writing in the New York Times, David Gelles suggests eight things swimmers can do to practice mindful swimming: Begin each swim with an intention to be fully present in […]
Health
Why You Want to Burn Bone Fat. Yes, Bone Fat
First, what the heck is bone fat? Second, why would anyone want to burn it? The answers to both questions come from researchers at the University of North Carolina, who, working with mice, found that exercise burns bone fat in obese creatures, but not in those who aren’t obese, and […]
Frequent Steroid Use Can Weaken Muscles
Steroids, such as prednisone, can be a good thing, repairing and strengthening damaged muscles. But too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and researchers at Northwestern University are convinced that steroids taken too frequently for long periods of time can weaken muscles. A Northwestern news release […]
Cycling Won’t Hurt Your Sex Life
After years of somewhat authoritative reports that cycling could hinder the sex lives of both men and women, two new studies are telling us not to worry. A news release from the American Urological Association reports that one study, which included nearly 4,000 men, of whom 63 percent were cyclists […]
Can Marijuana Reverse Brain Aging?
Nobody is claiming that smoking pot will make you smarter (and there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests that it does the opposite), but researchers at the University of Bonn are convinced that the active ingredient in pot–cannabis- can reverse the brain’s natural aging process. A University of Bonn news […]
“Forest Bathing” May Be Good For Your Health
Yes, forest bathing may be good for your health, but what exactly is forest bathing? As the Wall Street Journal explains, it’s a walk in the woods– a long walk in the woods with a focus on breathing in the chemicals that trees breathe out. Justin Bieber is on board. […]
New Treatment For Enlarged Prostate
About 50 percent of men over the age of 50 have enlarged prostates. Yes, it’s unpleasant, and it’s what keeps many men getting up several times a night to pee. For years, surgery and meds have been the most common treatments, and both can have unpleasant side effects, including, yes, […]
Healthy Middle Aged Heart Adds 5 Years
A healthy heart in middle age can give us another five years of pretty good life, thanks. That’s the conclusion of researchers at Northwestern and Yale universities, who analyzed a study that followed nearly 26,000 U.S. adults for 40 years. HealthDay reports that the researchers found that people in optimal heart […]
Exercise Counters Obesity Gene
Yes, there are genes that make us fat, and the influence of one of them, known as FTO, can be lessened by exercise. In fact, researchers at the University of North Carolina have determined approximately how much exercise can weaken the gene’s effect : 30 percent. And now the bad […]
Gut Trouble? Try Marijuana, or Hot Peppers
Strange but true: both marijuana and chili peppers, not combined, appear to have a calming effect on our stomachs. A University of Connecticut news release reports that researchers at the school have found that both ingredients interact with the same receptors in our gastrointestinal tract. The researchers discovered that capsaicin, the […]