Just A Guy Thing » Health

The Latest Advances in Hair Loss Treatments

James — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:00:38 +0000

This post is sponsored by Revivogen.

Are you seeing more of your hair swirl down the drain every time you take a shower? We lose 60 to 100 hairs every day, but if you’re going bald chances are you’re losing even more than that. Yes, it’s a bummer, but no – it’s not time to panic quite yet.

Hair loss happens to millions of guys – about 50 million men, to be exact – but there are more options now to stop the progression of your hair loss and even regrow some of your lost hair than ever before. Before you run and and grab the first product you see on the shelf of your local pharmacy, it’s helpful to dispel a few hair loss myths.

Hair Loss Myths

Some shampoos and cleansers claim that by opening up your hair follicles’ pores you’ll grow more hair. Sounds good, except for the pesky fact that clogged pores lead to ingrown hair, not hair loss.

Another myth is that poor circulation causes hair loss. Nope. If you get a hair transplant the hair grows in the bald areas which supposedly have poor circulation.

Think you can regrow your hair using nutritional supplements? Sorry – even healthy, well nourished individuals can still lose hair and adding supplements does not grow it back.

The Causes of Hair Loss

For most guys hair loss is a genetic condition, so if you’re going bald you can thank your mom or dad. Ninety five percent of all hair loss is inherited and it can start any time after puberty. About half of us will suffer from some degree of hair loss by the time we reach the age of 50. Depressing statistics, I know.

But inheriting the hair loss gene is not a bald sentence on its own. To trigger the hair loss gene you need DHT – which is the more potent form of testosterone produced by both men and women after puberty.

DHT turns on the hair loss genes that result in follicles to producing shorter, thinner hair. After a few years the follicle eventually dies out and is replaced with scar tissue. Once the follicle is gone only hair transplantation can grow hair in the bald areas so the sooner you treat your hair loss the better chance you have for success.

Available Treatments

There are lots of hair loss products on the market, probably the best known of which is Rogaine (Minoxidil). Rogaine activates the hair follicle into growth phase, but it can have side effects like headaches and reduced blood pressure. There are many products on the market under various names that have Minoxdil as the active ingredient in them.

These products will have the same benefits and side effects as Rogaine so don’t be fooled by fancy names that sell for a few times the price of Rogaine but contain Minoxidil. One major drawback of Rogaine is that it does not block DHT, the main culprit of hereditary hair loss. So for best results Rogaine should be used along with a DHT blocker.

Propecia is another medication for treatment of hair loss and this works by reducing DHT production over your entire body. Again, though, there are sometimes rare side effects, one of which is decreased libido. Yikes! Also, you need a doctor’s prescription to get Propecia.

Revivogen is a natural product formulated by board certified dermatologist Alex Khadavi, MD. Revivogen utilizes natural ingredients that are proven to reduce DHT production and stimulate the follicles like Propecia and Rogaine. Less DHT means your hair follicle growth cycle is activated and you start to produce longer, thicker hair.

According to the folks at Revivogen, the product has a success rate of 88%, similar to Rogaine and Propecia, without systemic side effects. It takes about 60 to 90 days to stop your hair loss and about a year and a half to see maximum improvement.

Revivogen is certainly not a miracle cure. It only works for hereditary hair loss and it will only grow back the hair you have lost in the last 3 to 5 years. You also have to use it daily for 18 months and keep using it 3 to 5 times a week to maintain results. But if you are looking for a natural hair loss treatment without the side effects, Revivogen could be a good option.

We’ve got a special deal for Just A Guy Thing readers. Cruise on over to Revivogen and pick up a three month supply of Revivogen Scalp Therapy plus 1 shampoo and conditioner for $89.00 with free shipping. The regular price is $119, so you’re saving 15% just for being smart enough to read this far. The offer is valid for first time customers and is one time only. The product comes with a 90 day money back guarantee, so go ahead and test it out.

For more info or to order the product, go to the Revivogen website.

photo credit (top): broma

Florida Burger King Adds Beer to Menu

James — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:00:56 +0000

Why has it taken fast food joints so long to figure this one out? At Burger King’s new “Whopper Bar” in South Beach you can order a beer along with your burger and fries.

The Burger King will be offering Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to South Beach partiers as part of a pilot program. If it catches on Burger King will expand the Whopper Bar to places where tourists congregate like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York.

The beer is served in a specially designed aluminum bottle and costs $4.25. But fear not – if you get the value meal it’s only 2 bucks. While beer in fast food restaurants in Europe is fairly common, this is a first in the U.S. I say it’s about time!

25 Ways to Have the Best 2010

James — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:00:30 +0000

By Greg Melville for Men’s Life Today

News flash: We regret to inform you that any unrequested email offering ways to lose pounds and gain muscle as you sleep — for only $19.99! — is a scam (which rhymes with “spam.” Coincidence? Not!).

Fortunately, making good on that new year’s resolution to tone your body and prime your health doesn’t have to involve an expensive gym membership and a crazy amount of free time. Simply modify a few habits and add some simple exercises — even if they’re at your desk — into your busy day, and you’ll notice a major difference.

These 25 realistic fitness and health tips, put together by a pair of nationally respected physical trainers, are aimed at busy people on a budget. Consider it your own personal health care reform for 2010.

Preparation:

1. Look in the mirror. Assess your fitness and health goals. Decide how much you want to exercise, and commit. Exercise is more easily managed when it’s divided into smaller chunks throughout the day, says Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise.

Morning:

2. Get up and get moving. “Do yoga for five or 10 minutes. Or walk your dog for two quick laps around your building or block,” says Gregory Florez, CEO of Fit Advisor health coaching services. “This wakes you up much like the way caffeine does — and you won’t have the drop in energy later. It also gets blood flowing.”

3. Don’t give up. Studies have shown that you need to repeat a routine (like morning exercising) for three weeks before it becomes a habit. “Most people start a routine and fall off. Give it those three weeks,” says Florez.

4. Start modestly. If you commit to running 5 miles a day five days a week, you’re bound to quit. Begin with, say, 15 minutes on the stair-climber, two or three days a week. “Once you start achieving smaller goals, it’s easier to work your way to bigger goals. Committing to do something a couple times a week is attainable,” says McCall.

5. Eat breakfast daily (as per mom). Breakfast flips on your metabolism like a furnace switch, so your body fires up and starts burning calories. McCall recommends a carbohydrates-protein combo. On Sunday nights, he premixes yogurt, granola and berries, and stores them in a container for five days’ worth of quick breakfasts.

At the Office:

6. Stretch. Especially if you’re tired, stretching will help you stay awake and limber. McCall recommends simply standing up, reaching your left hand above your right shoulder and slowly twisting your torso left as far as you can, then right. Repeat with right hand, left shoulder.

7. Breathe. Make an appointment every hour to stand up at your desk and take a few deep breaths. “You’ve got to schedule it with the same rigor you schedule any business meeting,” says Florez. “It’s important to re-oxygenate your body.”

8. Pack snacks. “I bring fruit and nuts and seeds with me, and keep them in my desk all week. Foods from fresh, whole sources have a lower glycemic index than sugary foods so you don’t get that high energy spike, then a big crash,” says McCall.

9. Go the distance. Use the bathroom farthest from your desk to get in some extra walking.

10. Drink water all day. Before lunch, down 12 ounces. “We often feel hungry when we’re just dehydrated,” says Florez. “Be that nerdy guy with the reusable water bottle at the desk.”

11. Walk it off. After lunch, take a few laps around the building.

12. Walk and talk. Got a Bluetooth headset? Then head outside and make a phone call while taking a stroll. “You’re cheating your body into really small chunks of exercise throughout the day when you otherwise won’t make the time,” says Florez.

13. Accessorize with exercise. Stash a set of rubber exercise tubes at your office so you can do chest presses, rows or squats right at your desk — two or three times a day. “That way you get your strength training in, in an accumulated way, throughout the day,” says Florez.

Evening:

14. Get these: A medicine ball, balance ball and the TRX Suspension System (Fitness Anywhere Web site). With them, says McCall, your aerobic and strength options are almost limitless. (Many books and Web sites offer workout instructions for medicine balls and balance balls, and a personal trainer can also create a personal plan for you. The TRX system comes with its own instructional DVD.)

15. Befriend the TV. Either take advantage of the on-demand workout videos offered by many cable providers or get a workout DVD for living room workouts, urges Florez.

16. Don’t just sit there. If you’re watching TV, get off the couch during commercials. “Knock out two to three exercises at each break. By the end of the hour, you’ve hit every muscle group,” says Florez.

17. Do the balance ball pike exercise. First, in case you’re wondering, a “pike” is an exercise that works the abs and shoulders. Now on to this one: Facing the floor, rest your thighs on the ball and put the palms of your hands on the ground, arms extended (like you’re at the top of a push-up). Raise your rear in the air, allowing the ball to roll toward your feet, and keep your legs straight, says McCall. Do three sets of five. Feel the burn.

18. Do the medicine ball wood chop. Squat down, legs spread shoulder-width apart. Hold the ball between your knees; as you stand up, grasp the ball with your hands, swinging it overhead, says McCall. Do one to three sets of 15.

19. Exercise intervals. Intervals are essential for strength work or a cardio workout. “Go hard for an exercise for two to three minutes, dial back, then up the exertion again,” says Florez. Do this two or three times a week. It not only breaks up the monotony of always exercising at the same pace but also benefits your cardiovascular system.

Sleep

20. Set a consistent sleep schedule. Your body will thank you for it, and you’ll have more energy to exercise. Yes, eight hours a night is important, and no, you can’t make up for lost sleep during the weekends, says McCall.

21. Close the fridge by 8 p.m. “Don’t go to bed on a full stomach. It’ll interrupt your sleep cycle,” says Florez.

22. Wind down. “[Stretching before bed] becomes a signal to your body that it’s time to wind down,” says Florez. (He recommends enlisting a personal trainer to create a stretching routine.)

23. Get the TV out of your bedroom. Too much visual stimulation will make for lousy sleep.

24. Set bedroom boundaries. Don’t bring work into your chambers. “Your bedroom should only be for sleeping, having sex or relaxing,” says Florez.

25. Create a nightly routine. That’s how your parents used to get you to
sleep. “Sometimes it’s a really hot shower. Sometimes it’s reading fiction — something
that will calm the body down,” says Florez.

Greg Melville is a veteran marathoner and fitness writer whose how-to exercise articles have appeared in such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, National Geographic Adventure, Ski, Runner’s World, Money and Men’s Journal.

photo credits: top – 1suisse, middle – charles chan *, bottom – digitalshay

Sex Twice a Week Cuts Heart Attack Risk in Half

James — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:00:49 +0000

If you’re having trouble convincing your partner to have sex, tell her it’s good for your heart. A new study found that men who have sex at least twice a week can cut their risk of a heart attack nearly in half.

The study looked at the sexual habits of more than 1,000 men and found that sex has a protective effect on the heart.

The study, conducted by the New England Research Institute in Massachusetts found that guys who have sex regularly are up to 45 percent less likely to develop heart disease than men who have sex once a month or less.

Researchers who conducted the study say that physicians should ask men about their sexual activity when assessing their risk of a heart attack. Scientists believe that sex has positive physical and emotional impact on both men’s bodies. Um, yeah, I’m pretty sure it does – thanks scientists.

An earlier study by the National Cancer Institute found that men who ejaculated at least five times a week – either through sex or masturbation – significantly lowered their risk of prostate cancer.

The New England Research Institute study only tested men, so it is not known if similar beneficial effects of sex will be found for women. One can only hope.

photo credit: Zawezome

Housework Burns More Calories Than Wii Fit

James — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:52 +0000

If you think you’re going to get all buffed up using your new Wii Fit console, think again. A new study has found that you will burn more calories by doing everyday household chores than you will on a Wii Fit.

Which? Computing compared 10 minutes on the Wii Fit to other activities. Using the Wii Fit would burn off 25 calories in a 10 minute span.

Cleaning the bathroom burns off 34 calories. And if you’re really trying to lose weight, get on the treadmill – that burns 115 calories in 10 minutes.

You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat. That means you need to spend nearly 24 hours on the Wii Fit – one entire day with no sleep – just to drop a pound. Good luck with that.

photo credit: Chesi – Fotos CC

P90X Workout Program Will Get You Ripped in 90 Days

James — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:00:42 +0000

If getting in shape is one of your new year’s resolutions, you owe it to yourself to check out the P90X workout program. This is the real deal – it will whip your butt into the best shape of your life in 90 days.

There are lots of scams on the Internet promising rock-hard abs by just popping a pill. P90X is different. It will get you toned and build your muscle, but you’re going to have to work at it. But, oh man – the results!

The P90X Exercise Program

The key to the program is what is known as “muscle confusion.” If you’ve been going to the gym for awhile, you probably have noticed that your fitness level has plateaued. That’s because chances are you’re doing the same workout over and over again and your body has gotten used to it.

P90X – which stands for Power 90 Extreme – has 12 kick-ass workouts that accelerate the results process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored. Through a combination of cardio, strength training, and stretching exercises, the program achieves full-body fitness.

The routines were developed by personal trainer Tony Horton and I have to say that while the workouts are killer, they are also a lot of fun. Horton has a great combination of attitude and encouragement to keep you going.

The workouts range from chest and back to something called ab ripper X. My favorite workout is plyometrics, an explosive jumping cardio routine that dramatically improves athletic performance.

Don’t kid yourself, though. P90X is not going to be easy. It’s going to take an hour a day for 90 days to get full results.

P90X Nutrition Plan

There’s a three-phase nutritional program to help you lose fat while keeping your energy up. To get results from this system you’re going to need to watch your eating. No workout in the world is going to get you ripped abs if you shovel in fatty foods all day.

The program also includes a special calendar and online support tools to keep you motivated. Most people I’ve talked to have started to see results so quickly that it’s easy for them to stay motivated throughout the entire 90 days.

P90X Results

P90X is a true Internet phenomenon with fan pages and support groups sprouting up all over the place. It’s a testament to the effectiveness of the P90X program that people from all walks of life and all fitness levels are singing its praises.

There are literally hundreds of “before” and “after” photos on the web of everyday people who have gone through the program.

There are also lots of athletes like Matt Diaz of the Atlanta Braves and celebs like Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore who have unofficially endorsed the P90X program in various interviews when asked what type of training they used to get in shape. There are also reports of police and fire departments around the country using the program to get their officers in tip-top shape.

If you’re only trying to lose weight then P90X might not be the best solution for you. Many participants have reported that they don’t lose weight because they are replacing fat with muscle. While they look a lot better, they don’t necessarily weigh any less.

I would also say that if you just want to get huge muscles, P90X is not the best program for you. The variety of workouts are going to get you more definition and are going to dramatically improve your overall level of fitness, but they are not designed to just add bulk.

On the other hand, if you’re in decent shape and want to get ripped, or if you haven’t been to the gym in years and want to get into great shape, the P90X program can do wonders.

What’s the Cost?

So, you’re wondering, how much is this thing going to cost me? The P90X program is not cheap, but it’s not super expensive either. The most recent price is three payments of $39.95, so all told you’ll be shelling out over a hundred bucks.

P90X does have a 90 day money-back guarantee and from everything I have heard and read about Beachbody, the company that created the program, they are serious about customer service and satisfaction.

If you haven’t been to the gym in the last week, you know how hard it can be to get your butt out the door. The beauty of a workout program like P90X is that you can get a world class workout from home without a bunch of bulky fitness equipment and expensive gym fees.

Give P90X a try and you’ll see why people are calling it the most extreme fitness program in the world.

Click to visit the P90X website now.

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“Sex Chip” Could Stimulate Pleasure in the Brain

James — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:00:16 +0000

Forget Viagra. Scientists are working on an electronic “sex chip” that could be placed in humans to stimulate sexual pleasure. The chip sends tiny shocks to electrodes that have been implanted into a specific part of the brain.

Research conducted at Oxford University found that the orbitofrontal cortex – the part of the brain just behind the eyes – could be stimulated to boost feelings of pleasure associated with activities like eating and sex. Scientists hope these devices could help people suffering from anhedonia, an inability to experience these types of pleasure.

A few years ago a chip was implanted into the brain of a woman with low sex drive and it turned her into a sexually active person, so there is evidence that it works. However, current technology requires surgery to connect a wire from a heart pacemaker to the brain, which can cause bleeding and is intrusive.

As these devices improve, doctors should be able to have more control over the stimulating activity of the chip. The technology has already been used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

[via Telegraph.co.uk]

photo credit: Andrew Mason

Study: Artistic Men Are Happier

James — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:00:21 +0000

Are you rich? Have a great job? That won’t make you happy. But taking the time to engage in artistic pursuits will, according to a new study.

The University of Science and Technology in Norway surveyed 50,000 people and found that men who participated in cultural activities were less likely to suffer from depression.

Researchers found that there is a positive relationship between cultural participation and happiness for both sexes. But they also found a positive relationship between cultural pursuits and depression in men.

Listening to music, exercising, going to the theater, and painting can all be good ways to ward off mental illness, say experts.

The study researchers speculate that participating in cultural activities means that people are involved in a community, which tends to make people feel better.

So if you’re feeling depressed, move away from the computer and pick up that paint brush.

photo credit: moriza

A WiFi Scale That Could Help You Lose Weight

James — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:28:29 +0000

If you’re trying to take off the pounds, you probably step on the scale a few times a week. Sometimes that number is inspiring, sometimes it’s depressing. But what if that scale could actually help you lose weight?

The new Withings WiFi Body Scale scale sends your daily measurements to the web where you can monitor your progress via a website or an iPhone app. The scale also calculates an estimated body mass index based on a height measurement given during setup and figures out your lean body mass by measuring your body’s capacitance.

The scale can also be set to automatically tweet your weight so you can get motivation from your followers. Helpfully, the device now integrates with DailyBurn.com, a popular web-based service that allows individuals to track their weight, log their fitness activities and monitor their daily food intake/calories all in one place.

While the Withings scale won’t take the weight off for you, it could provide the motivation to keep you going until you do.

The scale is currently available on www.withings.com for $159.00.

Coffin-Shaped Cigarette Packs Give You Fair Warning

James — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:44:07 +0000

Do you think anyone would smoke cigarettes if they came in a package that looked like a mini coffin? While these coffin cigarette packs are only a concept, it seems like a great public health initiative.

This seems a lot more direct and effective than the current text warnings on cigarette packs now. If you want to smoke, go right ahead – you’ll just have to remove the cigs form the coffin before you do. No word on if these will ever become available, but the Federal Drug Administration needs to start looking into this.

[via OhGizmo]

9 Tips to Stay Healthy This Winter

James — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:05:32 +0000

Ahh, the joys of winter: freezing cold weather, icy streets, flus and colds. While we can’t change the weather for you, we can at least give you some pointers to stay healthy this season, thanks to Dr. Margaret Lewin, Medical Director at Cinergy Health. If you’re home bound or if you’re off to the slopes this holiday season, here are tips to keep you going:

1. Stay away from sick people – at least 3 to 6 feet, when possible. If the passenger next to you on the plane is coughing and sneezing, and you can’t change seats, offer him a packet of tissues and turn the air vent toward him.

2. Never go outside without wearing a good sunscreen. The combination of high altitude and reflected light from the snow expose you to significant damaging UVA and UVB rays. Not only is sun exposure a risk for skin cancers, but it’s also a major cause of premature wrinkling. (Just look at the skin of the year-long ‘ski bums’ around you – they’re probably at least 10 years younger than you’d predict by looking at the lines and crevices on their faces!)

3. Obtain your flu shot(s) at least two weeks before your travel, so you have time to rev up your immune system for your trip.

4. Wash your hands scrupulously before touching your face or eating. There are only two ways to catch a cold or the flu: by getting the virus from an ill person’s sneezing or coughing directly at you, or by his coughing into his hand and then touching a doorknob or banister which you yourself touch – picking up the virus. Once you touch your face or food with that contaminated hand, you’re well on your way to spending part of your well-deserved vacation huddled under the covers alone except for some aspirin and a cup of lukewarm chicken soup…looking wistfully out the window at the happy, healthy skiers.

5. Be sure to get enough sleep and fluids. Winter vacations can be physically exhausting, and your system needs enough rest for you to enjoy the next day’s activities. You also need plenty of fluids to compensate for the dry, cold air outside and the warm dry air in front of the fireplace.

6. Over-the-counter vitamin D (at least 800IU daily) is thought to offer some protection against colds and the flu. (You also need vitamin D for good bone health, and it may even offer some protection against the eventual development of heart disease and dementia.)

7. Allow plenty of time to get in shape before your trip, concentrating on exercises which protect your knees, hips and balance.

8. Remember to check your health insurance when you schedule your vacation. Make sure that you’re generously covered for medical evacuation… just in case. If your policy isn’t adequate, take a look at such internet sites as InsureMyTrip.com to find inexpensive travel health and accident coverage.

9. Don’t forget to eat healthily just because you’re on vacation. You will have burned up about 400 calories every hour you’ve skied, giving you the chance to sneak in some extra calories during the day. Aim for light, healthy snacks (such as fruit or trail mix) – remembering that you don’t ski your best on a very full stomach. You really can eat your evening meal healthily without feeling deprived by following a few simple rules:

Eat slowly – it takes at least 20 minutes to ‘feel full’, so you’ll eat less and enjoy it more if you just slow down.
Skip the bread (or share a piece)
Order a great salad as an appetizer – dressing on the side
Choose any fabulous main course (as long as it’s not fried) – sauce on the side
Share your dessert
Order wine by the glass so you and your companion won’t feel compelled to finish the bottle.

Following these tips will keep you revved up and ready to go, no matter that your destination may be. Oh, and did you notice that the first letter of each tip spells out “S.N.O.W.B.O.A.R.D.”? Yeah, I know, you’re blown away, aren’t you?

photo credit: jenny downing

What’s Worse – A Buzzing Fly or Crying Baby?

James — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:39:46 +0000

What drives guys the craziest? It is the sound of a baby wailing or a fly buzzing around? If you’re a guy, you are more likely to be woken up by the fly than the baby, according to a new study. If you’re a woman, however, no other noise will stop you from sleeping than that of a crying baby.

For men, the wail of a car alarm is the sound that is most likely to wake them, followed by the howling of the wind, a fly buzzing, snoring, and noise from drains. Crying babies? They don’t even make the top ten sounds that wake up guys.

The study was conducted at research organization MindLab as part of its studies into what makes up a good night’s sleep. The lab created a sleeping environment in which they measured the volunteer’s brain activity while playing a variety of sounds.

Other studies have found that nearly one out of three adults suffer a disturbed night’s sleep between five and seven nights a week.

Researchers speculate that the different noise sensitivities between the sexes is part of the evolutionary process where women became more sensitive to sounds that could threaten their baby while men are disturbed by sounds that could threaten the whole family.

photo credit: jpctalbot

The Headtime Scalp Massager for Your Tired Noggin

James — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:15:37 +0000

I love head massages. If I could go out there and get a 60 minute scalp massage I’d do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, for most massages the scalp just gets a few minutes of attention at the very end.

If you don’t mind wearing a ridiculous looking contraption on your head, the Headtime Scalp Massager from Kinatech can give you the luxury of a head massage in your very own home.

The device comes with 34 ceramic and 29 silicone balls to create an acupressure sensation. The inside of this thing looks pretty creepy though:

There’s also an internal temperature controller and speaker that produces soothing sounds of creeks, birds, rain and waves, just like in the spa.

There’s no word yet when this contraption will be available in the U.S., but I want one. I don’t care how stupid it looks.

[via Engadget]

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 male 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 if 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