Push Ups: Perfect Workout?

I thought the perfect exercise was always swimming (still number 1 in my book!) but this latest article talks about the virtues of the "perfect push-up" and why it's probably one of the most cost-efficient exercises in the book. It's said that:

"One of the reasons the push-up has endured so long is it's cheap, it's easy, it doesn't require any equipment, it can work multiple parts of the body at the same time -- and pretty much everyone, from beginners to athletes, can derive benefits," says personal trainer Jonathan Ross, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise (ACE)."

I used to watch the Simpsons and every time Homer said "D'oh!" I'd do 5 pushups. Needless to say, there were some episodes that had me really sore the next day.

TC

Make your bad breath better!

Got bad breath? WebMD lists 8 ways to make sure the next time you're talking to someone be it interviewer or potential date, that the conversation doesn't stop before it starts. My favorite way would be with the gum:

Chew gum like it's going out of style.

Believe it or not, saliva is your best weapon against bad breath. That's why dry mouth, often caused by certain medications or medical conditions, leads to odor problems. By washing away food particles and bacteria, saliva helps to eliminate odor, too.

If you're wondering why your breath stinks in the morning, it's largely because saliva production slows while you sleep, allowing particles and odor to linger longer. That's where sugarless gum comes in handy, as chewing it will stimulate saliva production. Mints, on the other hand, don't usually stimulate saliva production and only temporarily mask bad odor.

"When you chew gum it makes you salivate, and the more saliva you have in your mouth the fewer bacteria you have. It not only mechanically washes bacteria out, but we have antiseptic and enzymes in our saliva that kill bacteria," says Wolner.

While anything that makes you salivate will improve your breath, a gum that is sweetened with xylitol is your best option. Xylitol is a sugar substitute that not only increases salvation but also works to prevent bacteria from replicating in the mouth.

Check the other 7 reasons out. Your mouth will thank you.

TC

Chocolate Heart Healing

Chocoholics rejoice! 

An Italian study shows that dark chocolate can significantly reduce the inflammation that leads to cardiovascular disease. The ideal amount is 6.7 grams per day (0.23 ounces). A typical Hershey chocolate bar weighs about 43 grams. That means eating one dark chocolate bar over the course of 6 1/2 days to get 6.7 grams per day.

Milk chocolate doesn't appear to offer the same benefits.

I wouldn't recommend Hershey's persay. My personal favorite source of chocolate would be the delicious scharffen berger (http://www.scharffenberger.com/) chocolate covered nibs. I highly recommend you try some!

TC

Fish Help

Recent studies show that eating fish during pregnancy may lower eczema risk in children. The study also found interestingly enough, that this had little to do with the omega-3 (thought of so highly these days) content of the fish eaten. It's something else in the seafood. But check this out: 

Babies in a newly published study whose diets included fish before the age of 9 months were 24% less likely to develop eczema by their first birthdays than babies who did not eat fish.

The infants were enrolled in an ongoing health study in Sweden that is following almost 17,000 children from birth though childhood.

Having a mother or sibling with eczema was the strongest risk factor for developing the allergic skin condition during the first year of life.

But the impact of early fish consumption on risk was significant, lead author Bernt Alm, MD, PhD, of Sweden's Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, tells WebMD.

 

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Fish has always been purported as a wonderfully nutritious, healthy food (as long as it's coming from clean sources) and there's no reason why a mother should be avoiding it during, and post-pregnancy. 

TC