The Health Blog
Stay Healthy, the Natural Way

Reviewed By Ray Spotts Unless you've been living under a rock for most of your life, you have likely heard of the importance of exercise and remaining as active as possible. This is because so many illnesses and ailments can be linked to things like obesity and stagnation.

Reviewed By Ray SpottsThe research focused on the acceptability and antidepressant effects of hatha yoga - the branch of yoga that emphasizes physical exercises along with meditative and breathing exercises to enhance well-being. In the study, 23 male veterans participated in twice-weekly yoga classes for eight weeks. On a one-to-10 scale, the average enjoyment rating for the yoga classes was 9.4. All participants said they would recommend the program to other veterans but more importantly - participants with elevated depression scores before the yoga program had a significant reduction in depression symptoms after the eight weeks.

The study used an accelerometer instead of a standard questionnaire to record the participants activities. Accelerometers are motion-sensing devices that electronically record and store daily movement patterns and intensity of the said movement by those who wear it. The recorded data is downloaded for analysis. For this particular study, the participants wore the accelerometers within four to seven days. The researchers reportedly still observed significantly lower mortality associated with each time, independently of the other, regardless whether the participants did either a light or moderate-to-vigorous activity.

Unlike heart attack, in which heart muscle dies, heart failure is marked by a long-term, chronic inability of the heart to pump enough blood, or pump it hard enough, to bring needed oxygen to the body. The leading cause of hospitalizations in those over 65, the disorders risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and a family history.

The study first reviewed many prior studies with data points that took into consideration overall health, weight, amount of time standing and sitting as well as other factors. The average age of the participants was 33. Researchers found that standing burned 0.15 calories per minute more than sitting. By that math, standing for even a fraction of the day would lead to expending more calories per day. This is obviously assuming there is no additional calories being added to the person's diet. Just three hours standing would account for nearly three pounds a year.

Reviewed By Ray Spotts Recovering from any type of injury can take a lot of time, patience and painstaking steps. From research that was conducted in Sweden, it was found that individuals who suffer from some type of muscle inflammation injury do much better in their recovery when they implement endurance training.

Reviewed by Ray SpottsWhile many people think of bone as this sturdy entity that doesn't really have much dynamic power, there is actually quite a lot of activity that goes on intrinsically in the marrow. It helps to coordinate the cartilage and the bone while also working through cycling immune cells, blood cells and various other cells in the body. For eons, the fact that marrow produces fat has been largely puzzling to so many medical professionals. After much research, in recent years a number of studies have shown that the greater the fat composition around and in the bone marrow the more susceptible to fractures and breaks that bone is.

The research looked at over 100 postal workers who were given activity monitors. Half of the workers worked in the office while the other half delivered the mail. There were huge differences between the two groups that were found. Firstly, the office workers had a bigger average waist circumference. Their risk for cardiovascular disease was also 2.2% higher than those who were constantly walking throughout the duration of their shift.

Using data from UK Biobank, the researchers found that women who on average did 60 to 120 seconds of high-intensity, weight-bearing activity per day had four percent better bone health than those who did less than a minute.

Reviewed By Ray Spotts The importance of being and remaining active over the course of your life is beneficial in many different ways. One of the foremost concerns often expressed is the lack of time some have to get the amount of exercise in that they would like. Some are under the preconceived notion that, in order to have a meaningful, good workout, it must be calculated and overly strenuous. This is not the case.