Just A Guy Thing » Health

Five Really Unhealthy Salads

James — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:12:40 +0000

Think picking the salad on the menu is a good way to cut back on fat and calories? Not always. Many of the most popular chain restaurants offer some of the worst salads you can imagine. Loaded with fat, calories, and sodium, these salads are true gut busters.

You’d be better off ordering the cheeseburger than any of these salads:

5. PF Chang’s Chicken Chopped Salad with Ginger Dressing

940 calories
68 g fat
10 g saturated fat
2225 mg sodium

Want to consume half your calories in one sitting? Then dig into this salad from PF Chang’s. While the basic ingredients on this salad are not so bad, the ginger dressing packs on the fat and sodium.

4. Quizno’s Chicken with Honey Mustard Flatbread Chopped Salad

1070 calories
71g fat
13.5g saturated fat
135mg cholesterol
1770mg sodium

Chicken salad with flatbread – sounds healthy, doesn’t it? But slap on that honey mustard dressing and you’re staring at over 1000 calories. It will take awhile on the elliptical to burn this one off.

3. TGI Friday’s Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

1360 calories

Another chicken salad that sounds like it ought to be healthy, but most definitely is not. Pecans? Not bad. Chicken? Not bad. Dried canberries? Not bad.

Sugar covered nuts and blue cheese? Very, very bad. Add to that a big portion size and you are packing on the calories with this one.

2. On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef and Smoked Chipotle Vinaigrette Dressing

1,680 calories
121 g fat
40 g saturated fat
2,660 mg sodium

This salad is anything but light. Last year Men’s Health magazine called this the Worst Salad in America, and it’s easy to see why. This salad is equivalent to eating 11 – yes, 11 – Fresco Tacos from Taco Bell.

1. California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad

2115 calories

Shredded Napa cabbage, chilled-grilled chicken breast, julienne cucumbers – doesn’t sound bad, does it? But once you throw in the peanuts, crispy wontons, crispy rice sticks and peanut dressing you’re going to be consuming a whopping 2,115 calories – about what an average guy should be eating in one day. The moral? If it says “crispy”. keep it off your salad.

So if you’re trying to eat healthfully how do you navigate the salad minefield?

Order your dressing on the side and use it sparingly. In many of the salads listed above, the dressing is the main culprit in the nutritional disaster.
Don’t order any salad that comes with a fried topping. While chicken might sound like a healthy option, it’s going to be loaded with fat and calories if it’s been friend before landing on your lettuce.
Avoid anything that comes in an edible bowl. Just remember: edible bowl = fat and lots of it.
Watch your portions. Part of what makes some of these salads so bad for you is the sheer volume of the food. Don’t feel like you have to finish your plate, even it it has salad on it.

Note: all nutritional information was taken directly from the restaurants online menus or from Fitness Magazine.

Save Your Brain By Surfing the Web

James — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:01:56 +0000

Surfing the web is not just a great time waster – it could also keep your brain sharp as you age. A new study has found that older people who started web surfing saw improved brain function after just a few days.

Researchers discovered that after only a week of practice, the test subjects experienced much greater brain activity, especially in the areas that make decisions.

The research supports the now widely advocated “use-it-or-lose-it” approach to brain functioning. Other studies have found that crossword puzzles, writing, and playing chess could all help protect against declines in cognitive function due to aging.

For the study, reported at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, researchers had 24 adults aged 55 to 78 surf the web while connected up to an MRI scanner. Half the participants had previously used the web on a daily basis while the other half had little Internet experience.

The adults were asked to perform web searches for an hour on seven out of 14 days. At the start of the study, the group with prior Internet experience had more brain activity. However, after the two week period, those who had just been introduced to the web were catching up with the other group.

So keep on surfing, especially of you are getting older.

photo credit: Liz Henry

Men Live Longer When Marrying Educated Women

James — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:05:47 +0000

Men, if you want to live longer you should get yourself a wife with a good education. That’s the conclusion of a recent Swedish study that looked at more than 1.5 million people over a twelve year period.

Amazingly, the wife’s level of schooling is a bigger factor in a man’s risk of dying than the man’s schooling.

Researchers Robert Erikson and Jenny Torssander of Stockholm’s Swedish Institute for Social Research found that women take a lead role in the home. So if a woman is educated, she is more likely to steer the family’s lifestyle to healthier habits. The assumption is that women with schooling are more apt to listen to health messages than women with less of an education.

The study looked at 1990 census data of more than 1.5 million men and women, ages 30 to 59, along with cause of death data for the period 1991–2003. They found that men who live with a women with no high school diploma are 1.25 times more likely to die than men living with a college graduate. The study was published in the October Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

So start going after the smart girls if you know what’s good for you.

photo credit: Alex Barth

Uh Oh: Exercise Doesn’t Lead to Weight Loss

James — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:21:18 +0000

If you have been logging countless hours on the elliptical machine at the gym to drop those extra pounds, we have some bad news for you. New studies reveal that the weight loss benefits of exercise may have been overstated. Diet, it turns out, is a much bigger factor in weight loss.

Before you give up the gym forever, countless researchers have found that exercise has a myriad of other heath benefits – it reduces depression, heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, and dementia, to name just a few. But when it comes to losing weight, exercise alone just isn’t the best route.

A review of recent research by the Mayo Clinic concluded that “most studies have demonstrated no or modest weight loss with exercise alone.” Other studies assigned groups of sedentary women to different amount of exercise for a year, but found that the women lost similar amounts of weight regardless of which group they were in.

Researchers believe that we overestimate the number of calories we burn while exercising – often doubling the actual calorie count. We then reward ourselves for our hard work by eating food that packs on many more calories than we have burned off.

So the lesson here is not to stop exercising if you want to lose weight. Just stop pigging out after your workout.

photo credit: Foto43

Cheerleader Flu Shot Girl Can Only Walk Backwards

James — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:51:19 +0000

This video has the Internet in a tizzy. Desiree Jennings, who was training to become a cheerleader for the Washington Redskins, claims she developed a rare neurological disorder called Dystonia 10 days after receiving a flu shot.

The bizarre symptoms include only being able to walk backwards or run forwards. While doctors say that Dystonia is a very real condition, some people are calling the whole thing a hoax. What do you think?

Flirting with Hot Chicks is Good for Your Health

James — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:50:52 +0000

Flirting with an attractive woman is not only fun, it’s also good for your health. That’s the finding of a new study that measured the hormonal impact of flirting on men.

Researchers at the University of California studied 149 male students between 18 and 24 years old. A third of the group talked to a make researcher while the others interacted with coeds aged 18 to 22. The psychologists then took a saliva sample from the men to measure hormone levels.

The scientists discovered that a mere five minute talk with a hottie boosted testosterone levels by 14 percent and cortisol – an anti-stress hormone – by a whopping 48 percent. Both testosterone and cortisol are associated with alertness and well being.

In contrast, the guys who spent time with the male researcher showed drops in both hormones.

Researchers have long known about a similar effect in animals, called the ?mating response?. The University of California scientists carried out their study to see of humans experienced the same hormonal boost.

Other studies have shown that married men or those in long-term relationships have lower testosterone levels than those still searching for a mate. Scientists believe that when men find women attractive, their brains send signals to the pituitary gland, boosting production of testosterone.

So you might just be better off chatting with your hot women friends than hanging out at the bar with your buddies.

photo credit: mark sebastian

Can Pizza Be Good for You?

James — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:21:05 +0000

Who doesn’t love a great slice of pizza? The crispy crust creates the foundation for that magical combination of cheese and tomato sauce. While pizza may never be considered a health food, Men’s Fitness has come up with a few ways of making it or ordering it that can keep you in fighting shape.

The basic ingredients of pizza are not bad for you – it’s the quantity of the ingredients that causes problems. You can minimize the bad stuff in a few simple steps:

Sticking to thin crust pizzas lowers the overall calorie count of your meal.
Load up on the sauce to the get the cancer-fighting benefits of tomatoes.
Don’t go crazy on the cheese. Of course you have to have cheese on your pizza, but f you stick to a single layer the extra calcium it adds to your diet can actually be healthy.
Stay away from the pepperoni and sausage. If you can order veggies on your pizza you’ll be much better off.

To see more healthy pizza tips, check out Men’s Fitness.

photo credit: wEnDaLicious

Easy Tips to Make Football Food Healthy

James — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:07:01 +0000

There’s something about watching football that just screams out for junk food. Chips, wings, pizza – as long it’s greasy, it goes with the game. But if you’re trying to stay fit this fall, you can’t just pig out in front of the tube.

Here are a few easy-to-make ideas for healthy football snacks from Dr. Margaret Lewin, Medical Director of Cinergy Health:

Toasted pumpkin seeds ? Check out this recipe at Epicurious
and add your favorite seasoning (see readers? reviews for variations).
Veggies – cut up raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, celery, green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower and add some healthy dips such as:
- Muhammara ? a Middle Eastern dip with roasted red peppers, garlic, cumin and pomegranate molasses ? Epicurious has a good recipe.
- Guacamole
- Bottled salsa
- Smoky Chipotle Hummus ? check out this recipe.
- You can also bake your own low-fat chips for any of the dips listed above.
Seasoned nuts such as Black Pepper Almonds ? sweet and spicy; check out a recipe here (see suggestions from ?Todd from Vancouver? in the readers? reviews)
Portobello Bruschetta – these take a bit more time to prepare, but fly off the plate when you entertain. Recipe is here.

If you?re up for something sweet, try?

Maple pecan popcorn ? try using less salt, a healthy brand of microwave popcorn and heart-healthy margarine and mixed unsalted nuts.
You can make your own sports bars with dried fruit and peanut butter. To make it even healthier try using brown rice syrup rather than corn syrup (see readers? reviews for variations).

See – it’s not so hard to be healthy while watching football. Now put down the chips and start cooking!

photo credit: Sister72

Quick Home Fat Loss Blast Workout

James — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:15:50 +0000

We all know we should be going to the gym more often, but with long work days it’s hard to get there on a regular basis. Luckily, there are great workouts you can do at home with nothing more than a pair of dumbbells.

Josef Brandenburg, a top personal trainer in Washington, D.C., has come up with a quick and super-effective fat-loss interval workout called the “dumbbell matrix.” I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like it would be fun and do the job of burning some serious calories:

Fitness Models are Scary Strong

James — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:40:15 +0000

You’ve got to admire a woman who can kick your ass with one hand tied behind her back and still look great doing it. The folks over at Obsession Fitness have a round-up of 10 fitness models and they are, well, very very fit.

Take Amber Nimedez, shown above. She’s known as “Lil Miss Fit” and works for a live-in boot camp weight loss retreat (sounds scary). Sure she looks good in a bikini, but she can also do this:

Then there’s Heidi Malano who has more muscles than you will ever get in your wildest dreams. Heidi is a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer who came in 3rd at this year’s Ms. Fitness USA. Yes, Heidi could beat you up, but she won’t.

Else Lautala apparently likes to dance at the beach, which is fine by us since she’s got an amazingly toned body. Else trains twice a day, six times a week and it shows. Makes you feel guilty about skipping the gym today, doesn’t it?

To see the other lovely ladies of fitness competition, check out Obsession Fitness.

Is Pulling Out Just As Effective as a Condom?

James — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:04:51 +0000

If you think back to your 8th grade sex ed class, you’ll probably remember being told that that pulling out is not a form of birth control. Your young self was severely warned that having sex, even without ejaculating, put the woman at a huge risk for pregnancy. Well, new research suggests that might not be true.

A recent study published in the June issue of Contraception Magazine presents findings that the ?Pull Out? method of birth control rivals the use of condoms. Published by sex researcher Rachel K. Jones and based on several studies and data from the Guttmacher Institute, the study indicates that ?pulling out? before ejaculation is nearly effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy ? calling the method ?only slightly less effective? than condoms.

According to the study:

If the male partner withdraws before ejaculation every time a couple has vaginal intercourse, about 4% of couples will become pregnant over the course of a year. However, more realistic estimates of typical use indicate that about 18% of couples will become pregnant in a year using withdrawal. These rates are only slightly less effective than male condoms, which have perfect- and typical-use failure rates of 2% and 17%, respectively.

It’s long been thought that pre-ejaculate fluid contains sperm, but the new study disputes the evidence for this. The researchers also found that withdrawal as a birth control method was relatively common among younger women in the U.S.

The researchers also believe that:

some couples rely on condoms during the woman?s perceived fertile period and withdrawal during her perceived ?safe? period, suggesting a sort of ?triple? method use over the course of a month?condoms, withdrawal and some variant of calendar/rhythm.

So maybe withdrawal isn’t such a bad birth control method after all, especially if both you and your partner have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Of course, as any guy will tell you, the hardest part of the “pulling out” method is the actual pulling out. You’ve got to have nerves of steel to pull out when it feels so good.

photo credit: Violet1980

Top Ten Hangover Cures

James — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:30:52 +0000

When it comes to nursing a hangover, there are lots of theories on what works best. Here are ten hangover cures from the folks at Delivery.com:

10. Cucumbers ? No doubt the eyes need some major TLC to de-puff?

9. Ice pack ? Applying a cold compress works wonders on a throbbing head.

8. Tomato Juice ? If you can?t stomach the ?hair of the dog? with a Bloody Mary, then tomato juice contains sugar to help break down the alcohol in your stomach.

7. Coffee or tea with Lemon – Lemon juice alleviates nausea and the caffeine helps shrink blood vessels that cause that pounding headache?

6. Crackers with honey ? This naturally flushes the system to rid your body of alcohol fast!

5. Peppermints ? Kills two birds with one stone by freshening breath and helps stop a churning stomach ?

4. Gatorade ? Dehydration is a major cause of a hangover; give your system a hydrating boost and replenish electrolytes with your fav flavor?

3. Bananas or better yet, banana milkshake – Bananas helps calm the stomach and the milk soothes the stomach and re-hydrates your system.

2. Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich ? The greasier, the better to soak up all those celebratory tequila shots and eggs help re-hydrate?

1. Advil ? make it Extra Strength ? no explanation needed?

If none of those sound good, then check out our 7 Day Quest for the Perfect Hangover Cure.

photo credit: cutglassdecanter

Coffee Laced with Viagra Seized in Malaysia

James — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:49:44 +0000

Officials in Malaysia have seized 900 boxes of coffee laced with Viagra, which had been marketed as an energy booster. Talk about keeping you going all night!

Authorities confiscated the boxes, which contained some 9,000 coffee packets, from a company in Kuala Lumpur. It was not clear whether the coffee packages listed Viagra as an ingredient, but it is believed that some of the coffee had been distributed nationwide.

The confiscated coffee was worth about $20,000. Viagra is legal in Malaysia, but requires a prescription.

[via Metro.co.uk]

photo credit: Felixe

Healthy Barbeque Ideas for July 4th

James — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:15:45 +0000

The 4th of July weekend is upon us and that means grilling outdoors. Everyone has their favorite summer BBQ items, but unfortunately, many traditional summer foods are high in both calories and fat. Just because you’re firing up the barbeque doesn’t mean you have to stop eating healthfully.

The folks at Livestrong.com have compiled some healthy (and tasty!) tips to help keep you eating on track throughout the summer season:

Leaner Meats
Did you know…
A 3 ounce serving of beef short ribs is 251 calories and has 15.4 grams of fat?
Just one ounce of pork ribs per ounce is 103 calories and has 8.4 grams of fat?
A single hot dog ranges between 170 -280 calories and has between 12 to 17 grams of fat?

Healthy Alternative: Grilled Shrimp over Arugula, Corn and Tomato
147.2 Calories
5.8g Fat
0.9g Saturated Fat

Choose Your Marinades Carefully
Did you know…
Just two tablespoons of traditional BBQ sauce is 50 calories?

Healthy Alternative: Susy?s Everything Marinade

Watch Your Side Dishes
Did you know…
A half cup serving of potato salad ranges between 150-210 calories, and eight to 12 grams of fat?
A half cup serving of macaroni salad ranges between 260-360 calories and 15-25 grams of fat?
A half cup serving of coleslaw ranges between 150-190 calories with up to 18 grams of fat?
A half cup serving of baked beans ranges between 160-231 calories?

Barbecue Your Vegetables
While it may seem odd, you can cook vegetables on your grill along with your meat, which makes barbecues healthier. Cut the vegetables into chunks that will cook evenly. Soak them in water for about half-hour and then lightly coat with oil. Choose from the many different flavored oils available to have some fun with different flavors.

Some people wrap vegetables in aluminum foil to keep juices close to the vegetables or put vegetables on a kabob. Kabobs are fun to eat, easy to cook and the juices from the vegetables cook together to create an interesting flavor. Look up recipes so you know how long to barbecue specific vegetables.

Healthy Alternative: Portobello Burgers
301 Calories
9g Fat
2g Saturated Fat

For lots of healthy barbeque recipes, check out Livestrong.com.

photo credit: Mess of Pottage

Get Fit in Just Six Minutes a Week

James — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:30:53 +0000

Tired of spending endless hours at the gym? What if you could get fit working out just minutes a week? That’s the surprising conclusion by a growing number of sports scientists. New research suggests much shorter, more intense exercise could provide the same benefit as longer, less strenuous workouts.

The effectiveness of interval training has been known for years. Athletes have been incorporating one or two interval sessions a week into their regular exercise routine. What’s new is that many researchers now believe you only need a few minutes of strenuous exercise per week to do the job.

One of the leading proponents of shorter, more intense workouts is Dr. Martin Gibala at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In one recent study, Gibala had one group of healthy but not athletic college students ride a stationary bike at a moderate level for between 90 and 120 minutes. A second group of students completed a series of short, very intense intervals by cycling for 20 to 30 seconds for as hard as they could. These students would then rest for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat the cycle four to six times.

Each group exercised three times a week, but while the first group spent up to two hours on the bike, the second group only spent 2 to 3 minutes pedaling. After two weeks, researchers found that both groups had achieved nearly identical increases in their endurance. Researchers also found both groups exhibited molecular changes in mitochondria that signal increased fitness.

Another benefit of the intense interval sessions studied by Gibala was weight loss. High-intensity exercise increases energy expenditure well into the recovery phase. Other scientists have found interval training also improves cardiac health, even for those with heart disease.

To get these results, however, researchers say you have to go all out during training. It’s going to hurt and you’ll be out of your comfort zone. You also need to be in relatively good shape before starting a program like this as it can take a toll on your body.

One established interval method to try is called Tabata, developed by a Japanese scientist who did research in the field. Just A Guy Thing has a comprehensive Tabata exercise guide that you should to check out. Crossfit.com also has information on intense interval training. You can also check out this New York Times article on intensity training.

photo credit: ?o???x?

Australians Are the Drunkest People on Earth

James — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:00:15 +0000

Think the Irish drink a lot? According to a new report, the booze hounds of the Australian outback have them beat.

Residents of Australia’s Northern Territory drink 15 liters (nearly four gallons) of pure alcohol each year – three times the global average. The folks who live in Alice Springs, one of the Northern Territory’s largest towns, drink an astounding 20 liters of booze.

In comparison, the Irish and the Czechs come in second place at a mere 13 liters of alcohol per year, according to figure from the World Health Organization.

Recent restrictions in Alice Springs might help bring down alcohol consumption, but the initial results don’t look good. The town banned the sale of 4 liter and 5 liter wine casks and limited the sale of 2 liter casks to between 6pm and 9pm. While sales of wine cases dropped dramatically, beer consumption increased. Just goes to show you can’t keep a good drunk down.

photo credit: mugley

Is Alcohol Really Good for You?

James — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:00:34 +0000

We’ve been told for years that a moderate amount of alcohol is good for your health. A range of studies have suggested a drink a day for women or two for men can promote a healthy heart and even help prevent symptoms like diabetes and dementia. But a group of scientists is questioning this belief.

Researchers like Kaye Middleton Fillmore, a retired sociologist from the University of California, San Francisco, point out that no study has ever proven that alcohol directly lowers risk of death. The only thing the studies have found is that the two go together. So moderate drinking may simply be a habit of healthy people, but not an action that actually makes you healthy.

Other scientists say many research institutions that have performed these studies have accepted money from the alcohol industry, bringing into question the objectivity of the researchers involved.

So what’s the bottom line? The American Heart Association says people should not start drinking just to protect themselves from heart problems. So if you’re drinking, keep it moderate. If you’re not drinking, there’s not much point in starting.

Read more on this at the New York Times.

photo credit: Mr. T in DC

Scientists: Getting Married Makes You Fat

James — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:15:24 +0000

Getting married or even moving in together doubles your risk of obesity, new research shows. The longer you live together, the higher the obesity risk becomes.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina did find some health benefits to marriage such as decreased smoking and lower death rates. But those living together or married have greater weight gain then others of the same age.

Researchers believe people living together tend to have meals together, possibly preparing bigger amounts or eating out more often than when they were solo. Settling down also means more nights in front of the TV and less going to the gym.

So, if you’re commitment-phobic, here’s one more reason to stay single. And if you?re already living together, it?s time to get to the gym.

photo credit: JasonRogersFooDogGiraffeBee

Want Tight Abs? Forget Crunches

James — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:30:55 +0000

Think the best way to tight, flat abdominal muscles is through endless crunches? Nope. It turns out that crunches are not the best way to exercise your core – and they may harm your back.

The full flex movement of crunches often places too much strain on your back at its most vulnerable point. The back of the spine has the greatest potential for nerve damage and it’s this body part that bends and strains during a crunch.

Your spine only has a certain number of bends in its lifetime and too much flexing can lead to a disk bulge or herniation which can cause back and leg pain.

‘Who cares about back health – I want great looking abs’, you say? Well, crunches are not the best way to a flat stomach either. Working your abs in isolation through crunches gives you a great looking stomach from the front, but when you turn to the side, your belly actually sticks out.

A better strategy is to use your ab muscles to do what they were designed for – using them to brace your spine during movement. Working all of your core muscles together – rather than isolating your abs via crunches – gives you a great looking stomach and makes you a better athlete.

Focus on exercises that work your abs while holding your back straight. Pushups are a great core exercise because they force you to stabilize your trunk while your arms and back work.

A plank position where you hold your body straight while propped on your elbows is another great ab workout. Also try leg drops where you lie on your back with your hands at the base of your spine and raise your legs to a 90 degree angle, then slowly lower them. Your stomach will be burning in no time.

Of course, all the core workouts in the world won’t show off your tight abs if they are covered in a layer of fat. Dropping body fat by good nutrition and burning calories is the only way to showcase your well-developed core.

photo credits: top d_vdm; bottom whyld

For more health news, visit Your Health Topics

‘Pregnant Man’ Gives Birth to Second Child

James — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:30:24 +0000

Yes, men, it is possible for you to give birth to a child, but it’s a lot more likely if you’re a transgender male. Thomas Beatie, 35, gave birth two days ago to his second child and sources close to the couple told ABC News that it was a “natural childbirth.”

Beatie was originally born a womn named Tracy, but had sex-reassignment surgery and legally changed his gender from female to male. But he kept his female reproductive organs and decided to get pregnant when his wife Nancy was not able to. Once Beatie stopped taking testosterone supplements, he began menstruating in four months and then one thing led to another.

This is actually Beatie’s second childbirth experience. In June 2008 he brought Susan Juliette into the world, becoming what is thought to be the first transgender make to give birth. Susan was nursed by Beatie’s wife Nancy by a induced lactation which involves using hormones and breast pumping to produce milk.

Beatie’s second child is a boy who has yet to be named. Nancy will be breastfeeding him as well.

So what do you think? Would you be willing to take on pregnancy and childbirth if you could?

photo credit: The Advocate