March 21, 2008

Are You Missing Something Like the Inside of Your Bones (Part 3 of 4)

Filed under: Health and Fitness — ryhan @ 11:44 am

Let’s take an honest look at some of the osteoporosis studies and statistics and how osteoporosis affects health and fitness.

Americans, along with people in Great Britain, Finland, and Sweden, consume more calcium in the form of dairy products and calcium tablets than any other country in the world. These are the very countries that also have the most osteoporosis in the world.

You can’t help but wonder why.

Over half the people in the United States over 60-years-old get osteoporosis that leads to fractures and often premature death. 50% of bone loss in women occurs prior to menopause. One out of four, that’s 25%, of all women get spinal fractures which are very painful, debilitating, and often lead to premature death.

Maybe we are doing something wrong!

In 1985, the National Dairy Council decided to prove once and for all that drinking milk was good for the bones. It had been claiming it for decades, but it wanted to now prove it.

So, the dairy industry sponsored a study which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study, postmenopausal women were divided into two groups. One group drank three 8 ounces of skim milk every day giving them a grand total of 1400mg of calcium. The other group drank no milk.

The conclusion was most fascinating, and not at all what the National Dairy Council expected. The women who drank the 3 glasses of milk a day ended up having 2x as much bone loss as those women who drank no milk.

But have you heard or read about this study in the media? Of course not. Quite the contrary, our minds are constantly filled by the non-stop chatter by the dairy industry. “Got milk?”

To my knowledge, the National Dairy Council has not conducted another study like this one.

However, in Harvard’s large nurses’ study conducted on 75,000 women, similar results were found. The women who ate more calcium through dairy products had substantially more fractures than those women who drank less milk. Did you hear of these results in the news or from your doctor? My guess is no.

The secret to preventing osteoporosis is not drinking milk or taking calcium tablets. The secret to the prevention of osteoporosis is the same secret that prevents so many other common conditions and diseases that are epidemic in the United States and other modern cultures, namely: cancer, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, digestive disorders, and many others.

And what do you think that secret is?

You may know the answereating a plant-based diet and daily exercise.

“You mean that plant foods provide enough calcium for strong bones and teeth?”

Absolutely and find out the straight skinny in Part 4 of “Are You Missing Something? Like the Inside of Your Bones?”

Dr. Leslie Van Romer is a health motivational speaker, writer, and a life style coach. Visit http://www.DrLeslieVanRomer.com for more inspiration.

[tags]health,fitness,osteoporosis[/tags]

March 20, 2008

What Is The Amount Of Calories Burned On An Elliptical Trainer

Filed under: Health and Fitness — ryhan @ 6:46 am

Elliptical trainers are a great way to stay fit and because they exercise the arms and the legs as well as giving you a very good cardiovascular workout they are fast being seen as one of the best ways to stay fit. It is also time saving to use one of these machines because you are exercising everything at once there is no need to use a variety of different machines. In fact, you can get a really great workout in around half an hour using an elliptical trainer.

Interestingly enough, many people use them not so much to keep fit but instead to effective lose weight so naturally one of the most important things to them is the amount of calories burned on an elliptical trainer during a workout.

Of course there is no one set in stone answer to the question on the amount of calories burned on an elliptical trainer. It is actually very dependent on how well you use the exercise machine. After all, if you just use the machine on it’s lowest setting for a short amount of time then it is not likely that you will burn that many calories. Even so, some exercise is better then no exercise so it is still a good idea and even if you do not burn too many calories you should still get some benefit from it actually performing the exercise. The real fitness and weight loss comes from exercising for around 30 minutes then you will really begin to see some advantages to using an elliptical trainer over a treadmill or stair climber.

A good workout on an elliptical trainer can give you real benefits to both your health and fitness and you can begin to notice a difference in your overall health and physique rather quickly. If used properly an elliptical trainer can tone your body better and significantly improve your fitness level. When trying to determine how many calories burned on an elliptical trainer per person the truth is it can depend on your size as well as how you use the machine. An average sized woman can expect to burn around 400 calories on a good workout while a small woman may burn as little as just over 300. If you are bigger then you are usually using more energy to do the same thing as you have more weight to move.

So the calories burned on an elliptical trainer can depend both on how use the machine and what size you are but they are, as well as being good for weight loss, some of the most efficient machines that you can use to raise your fitness level and they can also do it with less trouble and quicker than most other forms of exercise.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Elliptical-Trainer-Solutions.com. He provides more elliptical trainer ratings, recommendations and information on the amount of calories burned on an elliptical trainer that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

[tags]calories burned on an elliptical trainer, stair climber, treadmill, exercise, health, fitness, run[/tags]

March 19, 2008

Treadmill Lubrication

Filed under: Health and Fitness — ryhan @ 11:50 am

Treadmill Lubrication - Ya Gotta Grease The Skids

Treadmill lubrication on many treadmills is a necessary part of equipment maintenance and care. Failure to regularly lubricate the treadbelt will result in increased wear, substantially shortening its lifespan.

Though you may not think about such things when choosing among treadmills, lubrication is an important matter to consider.

The treadbelt revolves around rollers and over the treadmill deck creating friction and heat and causing wear on the belt itself. When you walk or run on it, wear and tear on the treadbelt increases substantially. Lubrication greatly reduces the friction.

Not all treadmills require lubrication. Some, usually those in the higher price brackets, are equipped with treadbelts made of materials that are essentially ’self-lubricating’.

Manufacturers advertise them as ’self-waxing’ or ‘guaranteed for 10,000 miles’. But others require lubrication to keep moving parts working properly.

Only A Rube Fails To Lube

Treadmill lubricants are either wax or non-petroleum-based silicon, depending on the model. Treadmill manuals usually indicate which is the proper lubricant to use and some will specify a brand, like Performant or Lube-N-Walk.

It’s essential that the proper lubricant be used to prevent treadbelt degradation or wax build-up that affects performance and increases wear. Improper lubrication might invalidate the warranty.

Care and maintenance kits are available at most fitness equipment retailers and online suppliers. They include cleaning supplies, which should be used whether the treadmill requires lubrication or not.

Dirt and build-up increases friction, which wears on the treadbelt, and heat that deteriorates the treadbelt material. Regular cleaning prevents these problems and should be done prior to lubrication, as well.

Remember that exercise equipment takes more of a beating than you do using it. It’s better that way, but good maintenance and timely lubrication will keep your machine running and running well.

Steve Ecclestone is webmaster at Best Treadmill Guide

[tags]treadmill, treadmills, smooth, fitness, star trac, lubricant,[/tags]

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