Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Extended Sitting In Office Unhealthy Even For Healthy People

Image by sunshinecity on Flickr
Common wisdom is that sitting for extended periods of time in your office isn't the greatest thing to do to your body -- though the temptation is there to do so, in order to get work assignments done (or out of sheer boredom, or some combo of both). Another bit of common wisdom has been: well, if you go to the gym every day and stay physically active in your non-work hours, it will all balance out.

WRONG.

According to new medical research, long-term sitting at your 9 to 5 damages your health regardless of what physical exercise you fit in during the rest of the day. If you're a gym rat but are still putting in hours sitting at your desk, you are still unhealthy. As reported in The New York Times:

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Grapefruit May Turn Your Medications Deadly, Study Finds

Image by dullhunk on Flickr
The amount of common medications that interact poorly with grapefruit juice is steadily increasing, says Canadian researchers -- and the results can be deadly.

“When I say sudden death, I’m not being sensational,” said Dr. David Bailey, a clinical pharmacologist who is the head author of the study linking grapefruits to health risks for those on meds.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Chia Seeds Make The Jump From Novelty To Health Food

what chia is most commonly known for
I'm sure everybody knows about Chia Pets, those clay figurines that grow "hair" and "fur" in the form of plants. Now chia seeds themselves are becoming the latest health fad, being recognized for its fiber, protein and -- most importantly -- omega-3 fatty acid content.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Getting "Clean" And Kicking The Toxins Out Once And For All

Image by kaibara on Flickr

Over the past several years, I found myself settling back into a routine I thought I had left behind: eating poorly, relying caffeine and sugar as my "fuel" for the daily work grind, and kicking back at night with alcoholic beverages. My daily "ritual" didn't seem to be that much different than that of large sections of my peer group: it was all "normal" ways to stay productive, unwind, and generally "enjoy life."

My body was crap. It felt like crap.

Two months ago, I decided to attend a free "wellness" evaluation at my place of work. Blood test, body mass index, weighing, blood pressure, etc. And what the registered nurse told me shocked me. No, actually it didn't shock me at all. But it was bad:

Friday, November 16, 2012

"Healthy" Cereal With High Sugar Content


Here is a current bugaboo that is bedeviling me as I write this, my soggy plastic cup of sugary cereal staring at me from my desk.

I didn't have much time to get into work today, so I decided to buy my breakfast at a little bodega-type place. Truly healthy options seemed slim, but one item was promising: Kellogg's "Smart Start Antioxidants" (yes, that is the real title) cereal, packaged in a handy, single-serving size.

This cereal seemed to have it all: "Original Antioxidants" in big letters, STRONG HEART posted under that (with a helpful graphic of a heart). On the side of the container was a green "call out" that boasted "Good Source of FIBER."