Happy Nirvana

A new US study found that older patients who survived severe sepsis were more likely to experience signficant mental and physical decline, in some cases not unlike dementia, and suggested this was an unrecognized public health problem with major implications not only for patients but also for families and healthcare providers. You can read how first author Dr Theodore J Iwashyna, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, and colleagues arrived at these findings in the 27 October issue of JAMA…

Credits to:Health News from Medical News Today

When I spoke in my last post about improving your workouts
by incorporating some frontal and transverse plane movements into your exercise
routines most people understood the frontal plane moves, but some readers were
confused about the transverse plane.

The transverse plane basically involves all rotational or
twisting movements. A lot of people immediately think of chops or oblique
twists for your abs as transverse plane movements, but there are hundreds of
others (some not so easy to distinguish).

I think you’ll be happy to hear that almost all transverse
plane exercises work your core to a very high degree. The reason is that your
core must tighten and stay tight throughout many of the 1-leg exercises that
resist rotation, and thus, work in the transverse plane (in addition to the
sagittal plane).

An example of this would be a 1-legged Romanian Deadlift.
Another example of a transverse/sagittal plane movement that really works your
obliques hard, but technically isn’t an abs exercise is  a 1-Arm Row. The reason is that your
obliques and core must maintain their stability and strength to resist rotation
and protect your spine.

So, as you can see whenever you begin to incorporate more
non-traditional 1-arm or 1-leg movements you will more effectively target your
core muscles, which must keep you stable throughout the set. So the next time
your looking to get more out of your workout program and work your abs without
all the twisting try incorporating some exercises where you’re resisting rotation!

Stephen
Cabral, CSCS, CPT, NS is the owner of Stephen Cabral Studio weight loss
& personal training in Boston, MA, and also offers online fitness coaching.

Credits to:Nutrition Data: Dieting & Weight Loss Blog

…At least at California Pizza Kitchen. I went there for lunch recently and was surprised by all the diabetes-friendly, healthful choices on the menu. When I was done (and I had leftovers!) I was completely satisfied and felt great. My meal was low in sugar, high in fiber,
and based primarily on whole plant foods. I love how CPK makes it easy and tasty
to eat healthfully! Read on to see what I ordered, and other great choices from their menu.

Credits to:Nutrition Data: Diabetes

Photo: Kelly Rossiter

Unlike yesterdays post on Hen of the Woods mushrooms, chanterelles are a well known ingredient. They aren’t available for very long, so if you find them at your farmers’ market, don’t miss the opportunity to eat them. I guess it’s just as well that you can’t get them often, because they are a bit pricey, so you can justify buying yourself a little treat when you see them…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Credits to:TreeHugger

Patients over 65 years of age who have severe sepsis have a significantly high risk of long-term cognitive and physical functioning problems, say researchers from University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor in the medical journal JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 750,000 people each year have severe sepsis in America. A significant number of them die…

Credits to:Health News from Medical News Today

One easy way to instantly improve your weight loss workouts is to add in some exercises
that are comprised of non-sagittal plane movements.

Sagittal plane movements involve forward and backward actions. They’re the moves
that our bodies are most used to doing during our daily activities. Therefore,
if we want to boost the intensity of our workouts without adding any additional
sets or reps we can do that by just selecting alternative movements such as
frontal and transverse plane exercises.

Frontal plane exercises ask the body to move side to side or laterally and transverse
movements work in the rotational plane. An example of one of these exercises is
the lateral lunge where instead of lunging forward or back you’re lunging to
the side. As a result of these exercises being new to your neuromuscular system
there will typically be an adaptation curve. This means that for at least the first
few weeks you will be forcing your body to work harder to learn this new movement.

The other great part of incorporating multiple planes of movement is that you
will be targeting large muscle groups in ways in which they haven’t been worked
before. This can lead to a push past a plateau and a nice boost in your
metabolism!

Credits to:Nutrition Data: Dieting & Weight Loss Blog

People often ask me what they can “take” to prevent, manage, or reverse type 2 diabetes. Since you’re reading this, you probably already know the basic answer: there is no cure-pill or magic bullet; you need to follow a healthy eating plan and a regular exercise routine.

That said, though, I do recommend some supplements where appropriate. Most of the time, the recommendations are based on a person’s specific health profile, unique nutrition needs, age, sex, and other factors. But one supplement I almost always recommend is omega-3 fatty acids.

Credits to:Nutrition Data: Diabetes

Photo: Alex Pasternack

The mangrove tree is essential to tropical zones around the world, helping to nourish local ecosystems with fish and plants, protect shorelines and soak up carbon. And now it’s vanishing at an alarming rate. Since 1980, the planet has lost up to a third of them.

But in the West African country of Senegal, citizens aren’t taking the loss of their trees lightly. Through the end of October, over 70,000 people across the Casamance and Saloum regions will plant an estimated 60 million of the essential trees.

With the help of a local NGO, Oceanium, and French corporate… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Credits to:TreeHugger

Middle aged people who are regular heavy smokers have over double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and various forms of dementia later in life, Finnish researchers report in an article published today in the peer-reviewed medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The authors explain that smoking, and in this case specifically heavy smoking (at least two packs per day) has another addition to its long list of illnesses. Prior studies had linked regular smoking to a lower risk of developing some neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease…

Credits to:Health News from Medical News Today

Interested in working on your inner and outer thighs? This exercise will help!

This great exercise is called a lateral lunge and it focuses on completing a lunge in the frontal plane. At first this may not seem so significant, but if you look at how our bodies move you will find that for 90% of the day we are always moving forward or straight ahead in the sagittal plane.

Working in the frontal plane allows your nervous system and muscles to be challenged in a new range of motion and movement. This type of stimulus is great for targeting the leg and core muscles. During this exercise you will feel a significant burn in your inner and outer thighs, as well as your glutes.

Here’s how to complete it:

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells by your side with your palms facing your body
2. Take a big step to one side landing on your mid-foot or heel
3. Sit back with your hips, bend your knee, and lunge with your weight onto that leg
4. Push back up, bringing both feet back together up to a standing position
5. Repeat 8-15x and then switch legs

Tips to remember:

1. Keep your chest up and shoulder blades pulled back
2. Do not round your back at any time
3. Keep your head looking straight ahead throughout the entire exercise
4. Do not let your knees go over your toes
5. Make sure that one leg stays straight and the other lunging bent knee stabilizes over the same foot
6. Keep the feet parallel to each other throughout the exercise

Enjoy this fantastic move and when you combine a quality nutritional plan with exercises like this one you will be well on your way to toning up and losing weight!

Credits to:Nutrition Data: Dieting & Weight Loss Blog