Healthbolt

May 9th, 2008

Harnessing Human Energy - A Green Microgym.

Could this be the wave of the future - human-powered energy-generating gyms.

I have a hard enough time getting to any gym. But maybe I’d be more enthusiatic if I knew that my sweat (and tears) was able to generate enough electricity to power a music system or DVD player.

There’s a guy in Seattle who is working on making this happen. Adam Boesel, a personal trainer, is setting up The Total Body Turnaround - a green microgym - in Portland, Oregon.

You can read all about it here

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By Liz -- 0 comments

May 8th, 2008

Brace Yourself…A Peek at the 20 Worst Foods in America

While researching post ideas today, I got caught in the killer vortex that is the World Wide Web. Link after link, interesting article after interesting article. And here I wanted to hit the hay early. *Sigh*

Anyway, though my travels were fun, my final resting spot for the evening was a real eye-opener. Because sadly, dear readers, I happened upon the Men’s Health list of 20 Worst Foods in America. The worst part? Some of my favorites (and I’ll bet, yours) were on there.

Categories were set up for entries like worst fast food chicken, worst drink, worst kids meal, worst steak, dessert, Chinese food, pasta, nachos and more. And of course, the creme de la creme, the absolute all-around worst food in America (which I am happy to report I have never consumed. Phew. Just reading about it made me feel guilty!)

So since we’re only a day away from the weekend, give this list a look before heading out to eat on Saturday. Just keep in mind that your trips to Macaroni Grill, Jamba Juice, Outback Steakhouse and a myriad of other places may never be the same ever again. Sorry.

Just a sampling…

Worst Fast Food Chicken: Mc Donald’s Chicken Selects with Ranch Sauce

Worst ‘Healthy’ Burger: Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger

Worst Dessert: Chili’s Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Worst Fish Entree: On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Beans and Rice

Worst Starter: Chili’s Awesome Blossom

Don’t forget to check out the list in its entirety (and to eat an apple before you go out!)

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By Liberty -- 0 comments

May 8th, 2008

Marfan Syndrome Patient is Defying the Odds.

Meet Mathew Rudes, a 21 year old college student due to graduate with honors from the University of California Los Angeles this spring and will attend law school in the Fall.

But Mathew is not your average college student. He wrote a book before he was 11 years old and was valedictorian of his law and government magnet high school in North Hills, Calif.

And he did all this despite being inflected with a severe form of Marfan Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes the mutation of the fibrilin1 gene. This mutation causes the body’s connective tissue of the eyes, blood vessels, skeleton, heart, and skin to weaken. As a result, their joints can become weak and over flexible and they often develop scoliosis. But most concerning is that the weak connective tissues of the blood vessels could easily result in aortic aneurysm or dissection - a life threatening situation.

1 in 5,000 people have Marfan Syndrome but many only have a mild form that is discovered in adulthood.

Mathew, on the other hand, suffers from severe Marfan Syndrome and according to Rena Falk, a geneticist at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is “…probably one of the oldest surviving, if not the oldest surviving infantile Marfan case…”

Mathew is defying the odds.

Having Marfan Syndrome and dealing with all the painful complications that go with it has not stopped him from pursuing a full and purposeful life.

Here’s what he has to say…

“I have survived my disabilities. I have survived my pain syndrome and I have survived the burning gaze of people who assume that I must be mentally retarded because I am in a wheelchair.”

“You cannot let disability, pain, or worse — people’s assumptions — rule your life: this is my life mantra. I live or die by these words.”

Words we could all live by.

You can learn more about Marfan Syndrome at the National Marfan Syndrome Foundation.

(Source: ABC)

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By Liz -- 0 comments

May 7th, 2008

Healthbolt Healthy Health Links of the Week

More Healthbolt approved links for you this week, all plucked straight from the blogs on the Healthbolt blogroll.

What’s that you say? You want to be on our blogroll, too? Great, just drop us a comment here or in an email and we’ll be happy to add you. As we see it, the more resources readers have for living a great and interesting life, the better.

But for now, enjoy these fabulous thoughts on the ever-intriguing topic of weight loss:

Our newest Health & Wellness channel addition, Weighting Line, shares some fantastic tips for cutting portion sizes.

At Fat Man Unleashed, Israel puts and end to mindless munching as he asks whether the food we eat is worth its weight in exercise.

proHealth Blog reminds us that weight loss can help prevent chronic diseases, a message clear enough to keep dieters on track, for sure.

At Fit Hacks, we are introduced to 4 common mind traps we should steer clear of when embarking on our quest for health.

From Fitness Chapter, 6 things you don’t want to hear while you’re losing weight.

And finally,

Lisa over at Workout Mommy has perhaps the simplest weight loss technique up her sleeve that I’ve ever seen. In fact, it’s as easy as ABC. Check it out!

Happy Reading!

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By Liberty -- 6 comments

May 7th, 2008

Doctors Playing God? The ‘Live and Let Die’ List.

‘To treat or not to treat’ in the event of a widespread pandemic or disaster is a question that has always haunted health professionals.

Now a group of physicians think that they might have the answer on how to deal this this issue. A task force drawn from universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies (including the Dept of Homeland Security, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Dept of Health and Human Services) in the United States have proposed some guidelines that can act as blueprint for hospitals in times of pandemics or extreme disasters.

The reasoning behind creating such guidelines is so that scarce resources - ventilators, medicine, and health professionals - are used in the most objective and effective way.

The final report, published in the May edition of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, states…

“If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing.”

What this means is that some people will automatically be triaged into the ‘no treatment’ category. This includes people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. For example…

• People older than 85
• Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
• Severely burned patients older than 60.
• Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
• Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease, or poorly controlled diabetes.

Ths report, as you can imagine, opens up a minefield of ethical and moral issues and is already creating a lot of debate.

As a health professional, I understand the need for having some sort of guidelines but it still feels a little like ‘Playing God’. And when it’s all written down in black and white, it just looks awful cold and uncaring.

So I’m curious.

What do you all think?

Is it ethical? Is it moral?

Let’s talk….

(source: CNN)

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By Liz -- 2 comments

May 6th, 2008

Running Indoors or Out: Which One Reigns Supreme?

Image details: Couple running on the beach served by picapp.com

Runners of the world, weigh in: Do you prefer getting your run on outside or inside? Pavement or treadmill? Why?

We all know some of the benefits of indoor running: adjusting incline, temperature control, a nearby TV, etc.

And outdoor running: becoming one with nature, natural visual stimulation, fresh air, etc.

Given those reasons and more, most runners have their favorite running spots and rituals, so naturally, whatever works best for you and gets you moving off the couch is the way to go.

However…

Is there a scientific difference between the two, health benefit-wise?

Short answer: Nobody’s really sure.

See, researchers have found the following:

• Outdoor running promotes a more intense exercise.
• With outdoor running, there is greater wind resistance and no assistance from a treadmill’s track.
• Therefore, outdoor running burns about 5% more calories than treadmill running does.

And that all seems to put outdoor running in the leader’s chair, except…

• Outdoor running can lead to significantly higher rates of bone strain and tension, particularly in the shinbone area.
• That same increased strain can increase the risk of stress fractures by more than 50 percent.
• Treadmill running, on the other hand, reduces the risk of injury, allowing people to run longer and “farther”.

So the end verdict on this:

While you may burn more calories hitting the pavement, the risk of injury runs higher. That being said, what form of running (or walking, for that matter) do you prefer and why? Leave us a quick comment and let us know…

Source: NY Times

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By Liberty -- 6 comments

May 6th, 2008

YouTube Based DiabetesMine Design Challenge.

DiabetesMine and Medgadget are co-hosting the 2nd Annual DiabetesMine Design Challenge…

“a competition designed to foster innovation in diabetes design and encourage creative new tools that will improve life with diabetes.”

This challenge is a follow on from the Open Letter to Steve Jobs that Amy Tenderich from DiabetesMine posted last year right after Apple Inc. has sold its 100-Millionth iPod. Amy’s open letter challenged Steve Jobs and the ‘gods of consumer design’ to champion the diabetic cause and help show the medical device industry how to create more feel good and look good diabetic devices - in other words, move medical devices out of the clunky into the cool.

I don’t know if Amy got any response from Steve Jobs but it did create lots of discussion and conversation, plus some new prototypes, designs, and ideas.

Somehow I think she’s given up on Apple Inc coming to the party. Instead she has issued a challenge to everyone and anyone -individuals and organizations - to put on their thinking caps and start designing.

You’ll need to head over to DiabetesMine to get the full rundown on offical contest rules but here’s a brief synopsis…

* there are two categories - under 18 and over 18.

* Submissions can be made beginning April 30, 2008, until Monday, May 26st, 2008, at 11:59 pm PST.

* All entries must be in the form of a movie or an animation, no more than 2 minutes long (all content in English), which will be submitted by uploading into the DiabetesMine™ channel on YouTube.

* Each product or design concept must be new, i.e. introduced within the last half-year, or in development phase, possibly undergoing user testing now.

The winner from each category will recieve a combination of rewards…

* prize money of $1,000 each in two entry categories. (provided by sponsors Cory and Justin Oringer who have both been living with Type 1 diabetes for more than 10 years each)

* a two hour workshop from IDEO’s Health and wellness consultants to help refine your concept.

* free access ticket for the winner of the adult catagory to the “innovation incubator” Health 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, October 21-23rd, 2008.

* promotion of the winners by MedGadget and DiabetesMine through articles and blogs, and possibly also feature some of the coolest finalists.

This is a great chance for would be designers to make their mark.

So spread the word.

And don’t forget, the official contest website and rules can be found at Diabetes Mine…

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By Liz -- 0 comments

May 5th, 2008

Litter Box = Healthy Heart. Who Knew?

Image details: Thinkstock Single Image Set served by picapp.com

Great news for kitty lovers: Turns out your feline friends do more than keep your toes warm at night - they help keep your heart healthy, too.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota found that owning a cat can slash your risk of dying from a heart attack by up to 40 percent. Evidently, having kitty around can help soothe away the harmful effects of stress and anxiety. Suddenly, dealing with the litter box doesn’t seem quite so vexing, now does it?

Of course, it’s best to keep exercising and eating right, but if it’s been one of “those days”, spend some extra time with your furry pal and make your heart (and your pet) happy.

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By Liberty -- 1 comment

May 5th, 2008

The Sunday Monday Sidebar.

A day late, but I think it’s worth the wait. 

Free Viagra

Now here’s a politician that really cares about his constituents. Gonzalo Navarette Munoz, mayor of a municipality near the Chilean capital Santiago, wants to improve the quality of life for the older people in the working class suburb of Lo Prado by handing out potency pills.

Jailhouse Menu - could this be the next new diet?

Do you believe this? An inmate in an Arkansas jail awaiting trial on a murder charge is suing the county jail for weight loss. Apparently he’s lost over 100 pounds in the last eight months because of the food he is being given. Now he only weighs 308 pounds. You’d think he’d be happy with the weight loss. Go figure…

Wanted: Women to eat chocolate for a year

Personally, I think the heading says it all. Just tell me where to sign up…

‘Pixie Dust’ From Pig’s Bladder Regrows Man’s Finger

Okay, so it’s not really ‘pixie dust’. The experimental powder that has helped a man’s severed finger regrow to its original length in just four weeks is really ‘extra-cellular matrix’ made from a dried pig’s bladder. But doesn’t ‘Pixie Dust’ sounds so much more magical.  No matter what you call it, it seems to be working.

And finally…

Dinosaur Dung as a motivational tool ?

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By Liz -- 0 comments

May 4th, 2008

Did You Take Healtbolt’s ‘Vitality Compass’ Challenge?

Earlier this week Liberty and I took the Vitality Compass quiz to see where we sit in the longevity stakes.

But then we asked ’why should we have all the fun’. So we issued a Healthbolt Vitality Compass Challenge.

Here’s the brave souls who took up the challenge and not only completed the Vitality Compass quiz but also shared their results with us…

Lisa from Best Health Magazine found that she is 6 years younger that her real age.

A’Lyn is 4.4 years younger.

Alicia from Mental Health Notes is 4 years older…but she explains, with good reason.

ME, with a life expectancy of 97, will outlive all of us.

Steph declared she was in the blue but thinks she could definitely do better. (BTW: love the blog title - waiting for my real life to begin)

Gabrielle from Fertility Notes, like many of us, took the quiz not once but twice and discovered large variations in the results.

Gabrielle also threw in a link to an online longevity game posted by an insurance company.

And last, but not least, Leisureguy weighs in but then decides that maybe it’s not that accurate and wonders if he might do better next year.

I don’t know about anyone else but I found the Vitality Compass quiz ‘food for thought’. It might not be all that accurate but it does make you consider your life choices in regards to health, fitness, diet, and exercise.

Now I’m throwing out the Healthbolt Challenge gauntlet to…

Crabby and Merry over at Cranky Fitness
Mark and Worker Bee at Mark’s Daily Apple
Trisha from Ideas for Women
The gang over at That’s Fit

and anyone else who wants to give it a go…

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By Liz -- 11 comments