Daily Health News Blog

It's not often that you find great exercise equipment costing $25 or less. But cylindrical foam rollers, which you can roll your body over in countless ways, are just that. Sold on the Internet and in sporting-goods stores, foam rollers can help you stretch and massage yourself, do strengthening exercises, and improve balance and body alignment. They're often used by physical therapists for the rehab of certain types of injuries, as well as in yoga and Pilates sessions. In fact, one of the first people to use foam rollers was Moshe Feldenkrais, who developed the movement therapy that bears his name. The rollers, full cylinders or half cylinders, come in different lengths, diameters, and densities. A typical starter roll is fairly dense, about 36 inches long, and 6 inches in diameter. Foam rollers are good at relieving hard-to-reach knots and tension points in your back, legs, and elsewhere. Known as myofascial release, this simple technique uses your body weight to pr

Magnesium plays many crucial roles in the body and has potential health benefits. It's found in lots of foods, but should you also take a supplement? Notably, magnesium is involved in energy production, cell growth, blood pressure, bone health, and the functioning of the heart, nerves, and muscles. Here's a look at its potential role in chronic disease. Magnesium and heart health.  An adequate intake of magnesium helps prevent arrhythmias, reduce cardiac damage from oxidative stress, keep blood vessels healthy, prevent spasms of coronary arteries that can cause angina, and boost HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. So it makes sense that many observational studies have found that people with a high dietary intake of magnesium have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. But overall, studies on magnesium supplements for heart health or blood pressure control have had inconsistent results. Magnesium and diabetes.  Magnesium is essential for the body's use of i

A new study led by North Carolina researchers has found that when it comes to weight- and fat loss, aerobic training is better than resistance training. The study is believed to the largest randomized trial to directly compare changes in body composition induced by comparable amounts of time spent doing aerobic and resistant training, or both in combination, among previously inactive overweight or obese non-diabetic adults. The study is entitled "Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults". It is published in the December 2012 edition of the  Journal of Applied Physiology  published by the American Physiological Society. Methodology A total of 234 previously sedentary overweight or obese males and females, age 18-70 years of age, were enrolled in one of three eight-month supervised protocols: aerobic training (AT), resistance training (RT), or a combination (AT/RT). Of the total, 119 participants completed

The battle of the bulge is on -- any movement on the scale yet? "Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance," says Jessica Bartfield,MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care. Despite that fact that two-thirds of Americans say they are on a diet to improve their health, very few are actually decreasing in size. "Dieting is a skill, much like riding a bicycle, and requires practice and good instruction, " says Dr. Bartfield. "You're going to fall over and feel frustrated, but eventually you will succeed and it will get easier." Top Four Reasons Why Dieters Don't Lose Weight According to Dr. Bartfield, here are the top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight. 1. Underestimating Calories Consumed "Most people (even experts!) underestimat

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. - Rainer Maria Rilke You raze the old to raise the new. - Justina Chen Headley There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I. - John Steinbeck One can begin so many things with a new person-even begin to be a better man. - George Eliot A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew. - Aberjhani You're never too old, never too bad, never too late and never too sick to start from scratch once again. - Harriet Morgan Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. - Alan Cohen Life is not a dress rehearsal. Stop practicing what you're going to do and just go do it. In one bold stroke you can transform today. - Marilyn Grey Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways

People who meditate regularly say it provides mental, spiritual, and physical benefits. Even some mainstream doctors recommend meditation to help treat chronic pain, high blood pressure, and other ailments. How it works is not fully understood, though research is accumulating--and encouraging. Meditation helps you draw attention inward and calm the mind. It comes in many forms, which typically involve combinations of postures, breathing, sound, visualizations, and/or movement. Transcendental Meditation, for example, focuses on a mantra, which can be a word, phrase, or sound that is repeated with every slow breath. Zen Buddhist meditation involves sitting in special positions as you direct your awareness to your posture and breathing. Another popular form is mindfulness meditation, which also comes out of the Buddhist tradition. You practice being aware of the present by observing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, without making judgments or allowing yourself to think abo

When it comes to dieting, losing the initial weight is the “easy” part. Keeping the weight off is harder. Here’s what it takes to be a successful weight-loss maintainer. A large study in the  American Journal of Preventive Medicine  has found that dieting and long-term weight control require some different tactics. In particular, successful weight-loss maintainers are more likely to: • Eat lots of low-fat sources of protein. • Follow a consistent exercise routine. • Reward themselves for sticking to their diet or exercise plan. • Remind themselves why they need to control their weight. That’s in addition to practices common in both successful dieting and weight-loss maintenance, such as eating lots of fruits and vegetables, controlling portions, planning what you’ll buy before going to the store, and reading nutrition labels. Previous research by the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), which tracks people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at leas