Did you know?
Family Health & Fitness Day is the last Saturday of September. It stresses that regular physical activity is fun and important to family health.

Steps to take
Find out more about this from fitnessday.com/family

These are a great vegan cookie alternative…rich in heart healthy fats, high fiber and a tasty treat! Note: These bars are free from margarine or other hydrogenated oils. They are great breakfast bar alternatives, pre or post workout or to serve as a vegan dessert!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup macadamia nut butter
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 cupl brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
3/4 cup golden raisins

Read the full post on Vegan Macadamia Nut Bars Recipe.

Carbohydrate Loading
Many athletes know that they should carbohydrate load prior to endurance events. Very few athletes know how to properly do this. In sport medicine terms, carbohyrate loading is a “practice that aims to maximize muscle glycogen stores prior to competition”. Muscle glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates found in the muscle.

Carbohydrate loading is beneficial for events that last longer than 90 minutes. Itʼs said that it can improve an athletes performance by “2-3%” through prolonging the time to exhaustion. Carbohydrate loading includes 3 days of a high carbohydrate diet, in addition to very light or no training or exercise.

Read the full post on Nutrition Preparation for Your Big Race Day.

A recent study from Stanford University presented at the SLEEP 2010 conference showed that Americans reported moderate to severe daytime sleepiness 33% more than their European counterparts. Almost 20% of those surveyed reported moderate to excessive sleepiness, and 11% reported severe sleepiness. Women reported more sleepiness than men.

Some interesting findings:
- 18% of people reported being sleepy in situations that require a high level of concentration.
- People who work at night, are insomniacs or are depressed showed the same rate of sleepiness, nearly two times more likely than the typical subject.
- People with obstructive sleep apnea were three times more likely to be sleepy – wear your C-PAP machine!

Read the full post on America is Sleepier Than Europe.

Did you know?
Many over-the-counter products, such as black cohosh, soy items, vitamin and other supplements, etc. claim to relieve symptoms of menopause.

Steps to take
Ask your doctor or health care provider what products are okay for you to take on your own. Ask, too, how much of a product is safe to use.

At what point does “uncomfortable” get you in trouble?
A Mexican TV reporter was preparing to interview New York Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez, yet felt uncomfortable enough during her wait in the locker room to make this vague claim via Twitter. This issue has set off quite a bit of castigating while resurrecting some old controversy about women reporters in men’s locker rooms.

The real life issue here is that the word “uncomfortable” is vague and has immensely varied opinions as to when it becomes an actionable offense?

Read the full post on There’s a Lady in My Locker Room.

These are a great vegan cookie alternative…rich in heart healthy fats, high fiber and a tasty treat! Note: These bars are free from margarine or other hydrogenated oils. They are great breakfast bar alternatives, pre or post workout or to serve as a vegan dessert!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup macadamia nut butter (I like Maranantha brand)
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 cup organic brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 cup organic rolled oats
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
3/4 cup golden raisins

Read the full post on Vegan Macadamia Nut Cookies.

Did you know?
Pap smears do not detect ovarian cancer.

Steps to take
Ask your doctor about the benefits and risks of current screening tests for ovarian cancer. Find out more from cancer.gov and ovarian.org.

Regular aerobic exercise improves the quality of sleep, mood and vitality, according to a small but significant study from Northwestern Medicine. The study examined the effects of aerobic exercise on middle-age and older adults with a diagnosis of insomnia. The results achieved resulted in more dramatic improvement than pharmacological intervention, which is good news as the taking of few drugs allows for less potential negative interactions with medications that a person may already be taking for other health conditions.

Read the full post on Aerobic Exercise Improves Chronic Insomnia.

They both cause excessive buying at the “Depot” … Home Depot and Office Depot. (kidding)
The true answer is that they both cause a sensational amount of stress. In turn, certain components of the immune system become less effective at fighting off illness when exposed to stress over days or weeks. Despite attitude (perception), your nutrition plays a critical role in tempering the potential to sickness.

Secrets of the nutritional game …

All the chatter is about what you can do from outside the body – wash hands, cover you mouth when coughing or sneezing, take an antibiotic (which we are being rigorously warned to be conservative with) and vaccinate.

Read the full post on What is Similar About Hurricanes and “Back To School”?.