Eating Before Exercise

 A new study has finally solved the dilemma of whether to eat before or after you exercise. Researchers at the Universities of Bath, Birmingham, Newcastle, and Stirling analyzed the energy expenditure of twelve healthy physically active men between the ages of 20 and 26. Each of the men completed three different trials: eating a breakfast of oats and milk and then resting (no exercise), eating the same breakfast two hours before cycling for 60 minutes, and skipping breakfast completely before doing the same 60 minutes of exercise.

The study revealed that when the men skipped breakfast, they had a greater calorie deficit throughout the day of about 150 calories on average, implying that fasting before exercise is the best for weight loss.

The study’s authors concluded, “These results suggest that for healthy young men a short-term energy deficit may be more easily attained if breakfast is omitted before exercise.”  When you work out on an empty stomach, your body does not have readily accessible energy from food so it draws from other sources, like stored body fat, which makes your exercise more effective at burning fat and helping you lose weight.

Additionally, exercising in a fasted state keeps your insulin levels low, allowing your body to produce more growth hormone which also burns fat. “When insulin is elevated, as is the case after you eat, your body will be in a state of wanting to store fat, not burn it,” Phoenyx Austin, MD, a certified Sports Medicine Specialist, explained to MindBodyGreen. “It doesn’t matter if you exercise like a mad man after a meal, you won’t be able to burn body fat until insulin levels drop, which can typically take two-to-three hours, if not longer.

Gardening and Exercise

According to research, leisure activities, such as gardening, can actually have just as many physical benefits as working out does. A recent study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, measured in participants what the study refers to as “leisure time physical activity.”
Doing leisure time physical activity for just 10-59 minutes a week resulted in an 18 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality. The more you do, the less risk you have. Those who engaged in 150 to 299 minutes of physical activity each week had a 31 percent decrease in mortality.

Leisure time physical activity could refer to anything that exerts physical activity, but is more fun than your monotonous routine at the gym. Dancing qualifies as a leisure time physical activity, as does walking, hiking, and swimming. However, one of the best activities for this kind of benefit is gardening.
There have been many studies in the past that show regular gardening helps you keep in top physical shape. Whether it is weeding, trimming, or raking, gardening can help you burn up to 300 calories an hour. Plus, related activities such as spading, lifting and tilling can help you increase your muscle tone and strength.

In addition to physical benefits, gardening in general has been linked to many other health benefits, including less depression, anxiety, and stress, according to a meta analysis published in Preventative Medicine Reports. It also found that people who garden regularly also had a better sense of life satisfaction in general.

Eight Tips for a Healthier Brain

Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise boosts daily intellectual performance and significantly lowers risk for dementia. Other studies have suggested that regular exercise can reduce that risk by up to 38 percent. More studies have shown that maintaining a healthy weight with a low ratio of belly fat can significantly lower our risk for a memory disorder, even beginning in middle age.

Managing chronic conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes can significantly reduce risk for stroke and dementia. Also, taking care of medical issues such as hearing or vision loss can make a tremendous difference in our ability to learn new information.

Emotional distress and anxiety can also affect everyday abilities and may even increase risk for memory impairment. Get a good night’s sleep, avoid risky behaviors, and do not ignore emotional upsets. A leading study on successful aging found that folks who aged well were more emotionally resilient than others.

Playing games against the clock activities force us to pay attention, work fast, and think nimbly. Research shows that training in these skills can help us stay more effective at them, regardless of age.

Research shows that staying intellectually engaged can significantly lower risk for memory impairment by as much as 63 percent. Intellectual engagement supports emotional well-being and better brain health. Look for ways to change your routine, such as taking a craft class, brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, or taking a new route to work or the store.

Staying social has been shown to potentially cut your risk for memory impairment in half. Social situations offer a challenge to keep up our end of the conversation and helps us stay focused, and think fast. Find ways to get out with friends, and ways to engage through community or other resources.

Working or volunteering can improve daily intellectual performance. You get a good brain workout on the job, which offers you the chance to engage both mentally and socially. Continuing to work or volunteer provides a sense of purpose, which researchers found may protect us from memory impairment.

If you want to remember better, believe that you can. Self-perception can impact performance. If you are convinced your memory is poor, it probably will be. Studies have shown that memory self-belief impacts how well we do on memory tests. Practice the power of positive thinking.

Exercise vs. Exorcise

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the pronunciation of these two words and content of the rest of a sentence is key to understanding. We exercise to stay fit, but we also exercise to get rid of fat and we exercise to develop skills. We exorcise demons to get rid of them.

Many people have a fear of public speaking, but we can both exercise (develop skills), and exorcise, to get rid of public speaking demons.

Laughter and Exercise

According to researchers at Georgia State University, forced laughter incorporated into an exercise program increases the health benefits and makes older adults more likely to exercise more. Simulated laughter techniques added to a strength, balance, and flexibility workout improved older adults' performance in an exercise program and significantly improved their enjoyment.
Laughter has physical benefits, and in many cases has an effect on the muscles used during exercise programs. Forced laughter, or choosing to laugh, rather than as a response to something funny gave way to actual laughter and enjoyment for most participants in classes with laughing incorporated into physical exercises.


Laughter is an enjoyable activity and has many health benefits. In a recent study, participants experienced improvement in mental health, aerobic endurance, and outcome expectation for exercise, with 96.2 percent of participants saying laughter made exercise more enjoyable, 88.9 percent saying it made exercise more accessible and 89.9 percent saying it would motivate them to participate in more exercise classes or activities. We all need a good laugh for better mental health and to clear out the cobwebs of our mind.

Wine is Better than Exercise

A recent study found that a glass of red wine is the equivalent to an hour at the gym. Also, drinking red wine could help burn fat, says another study.

The health benefits of red wine have been well documented. Studies have revealed that those who drink a glass of red wine a day are less likely to develop dementia or cancer, that it is good for your heart, it is anti-aging and can regulate blood sugar.

Research conducted by the University of Alberta in Canada has found that health benefits in resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, are similar to those we get from exercise.  Resveratrol was seen to improve physical performance, heart function and muscle strength in the same way as they are improved after a gym session. Other sources of resveratrol are blueberries, peanut butter, red grapes, and dark chocolate.

Laughing Exercise

Laughing 100 times is equivalent to 15 minutes of exercise on a stationary bicycle.

Sperm Study

Here is another of those studies that makes us wonder who thinks up this stuff. The British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at the lifestyles of 189 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 22, during a three-month period to establish a link between environmental factors and semen quality. Its finding - men who watch more than 20 hours of television a week risk halving their sperm count.

It said, while regular, vigorous exercise was shown to boost sperm count, excessive television-watching can counteract the positive effects of physical activity and can have a major impact on a man’s ability to reproduce.

Another study by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Manchester compared the lifestyles of 939 men with poor sperm quality with 1,310 men with normal sperm quality. It found “little evidence” that a high BMI, excessive alcohol consumption or recreational drugs were contributing factors to sperm quality. It also found that wearing boxer shorts rather than tighter underwear was linked to higher sperm levels. There was even evidence that high levels of physical activity might have a detrimental effect on quality and quantity.

Dr George Chavarro from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School at Public Health, senior author of the recent study said, “In general, very little is known about what influences sperm count.”  Too bad for us their fathers didn't watch more TV.