Wed, 30 May 2007  Weight Loss: How They Did It In this short run I do a shameless promotion of my new audio book Weight Loss: How They Did It by playing the first track of the program. This is a ten track, two-hour program. The tracks alternate between the four Fitness Rocks Listeners I interviewed for the project and my own commentary. This first track is a five minute introduction to the program. Music in the audio book is from Jon Schmidt. Buy the digital download of the audio book by clicking this button: 
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Wed, 23 May 2007 Your waist size and your health Hey, I missed the last Saturday post of Fitness Rocks because I was in Austin, Texas attending my oldest son's graduation from college. On this short run we'll be talking about the relationship between your waist size and your health. It's not enough just to have a BMI in the healthy range - you also need to have a slim waist. |
Wed, 16 May 2007 Yo Yo Dieting and Your Health
On this Short Run we're going to talk about the health consequences of repeatedly losing and then regaining weight. This is a common phenomenon associated with attempting to lose weight using unsustainable fad diets. |
Wed, 9 May 2007 Environmental Pollutants in Your Food In this short run we're going to talk briefly about the very disturbing topic of toxins in the food we eat. I don't like this topic. Researching all the different poisons that humans pump into the environment that wind up in our food is, frankly, depressing - and I usually avoid reading about this. But, there are some strategies you can use to reduce your exposure. Come along on this short run and hear what I've been reading. Comments[0] |
Wed, 2 May 2007 Your Brain and Your Weight In this show I review an article from the April 25, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association entitled The Right Brain Hypothesis for Obesity. If there are any neuroscientists listening please send me an e-mail to help fill in my lack of understanding of how the brain works. This paper puts forward some really interesting ideas and different thoughts about various causes for the epidemic of obesity sweeping the world. How much of a role does our brain play in our waistlines? Check out Fitness Rocks Short Run 013 to find out. Comments[0] |
Wed, 25 April 2007 Fitness Level and the Risk of Stroke Can being more fit reduce your risk of having a stroke? Check out Fitness Rocks Short Run 012 for the details. Comments[0] |
Wed, 18 April 2007 Diet and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes In this short run we look at whether the type of food you eat puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes - independently of your weight, level of physical activity, or family history. This podcast gives new life to the old saying "you are what you eat." Comments[0] |
Wed, 11 April 2007 Can Good Cholesterol be Bad? The drug company Pfizer recently halted clinical trials on a drug (torcetrapib) which raises HDL ("good") cholesterol because even though the drug was raising HDL, it was also causing higher death rates among study paticipants. It turns out that our simplistic way of looking at cholesterol as either good or bad is not as accurate as we would like it to be. Under some conditions HDL cholesterol may actually promote heart disease rather than prevent it. Listen to Fitness Rocks Short Run 010 for the details. Comments[0] |
Wed, 4 April 2007 Vitamin D Deficiency and Disease Another study demonstrating the widespread prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. We'll discuss this study, what it means for your health, and what you should do. Comments[0] |
Wed, 28 March 2007 Weight Loss and your Bones Being Overweight is associated with have stronger bones, at least in part because of the increased mechanical force applied to the bones making them stronger. Losing weight has been noted to result in some loss of bone mineral density, and therefore possibly increasing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. In this Fitness Rocks Short Run we discuss a study that compares losing weight by just eating fewer calories versus losing weight by exercising and compares the effects of each approach on bone mineral density. Comments[0] |
Wed, 21 March 2007 Are You Drinking Your Way to Weight Gain? Sugar sweetened beverages constitute a significant proportion of the total calories consumed by Americans each day. How much do these liquid calories factor into the runaway obesity epidemic? Listen to Fitness Rocks Short Run 007 and learn whether or not what you're drinking is making you gain weight, or just making it difficult to lose weight. |
Wed, 14 March 2007 Healthy Lifestyle Habits and Risk of Heart Disease In this short run we review a recent study demonstrating the benefits of adhering to a healthy lifestyle and substantially reducing the risk of heart disease. Not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising every day, drinking alcohol in moderation, and eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of heart disease by almost 90 percent - and prevent over 60 percent of all cases of heart disease. References: Healthy Lifestyle Factors in the Primary Prevention of Heart Disease Comments[0] |
Wed, 7 March 2007 Should the Government be Involved With Your Weight Loss Program? In this Short Run we review an opinion article from the Journal of the American Medical Association concerning the use of public law to help in the effort to reverse the rising trend of overweight and obesity. The topic and the ideas of the author are sure to provoke controversy. Take a listen to Fitness Rocks Short Run 005 and then share your thoughts on the subject in the Fitness Rocks forum - be nice. |
Wed, 28 February 2007 Siesta And The Risk of Dying From a Heart Attack On this short run we will review a study that appears to demonstrate a substantial health benefit to taking a midday nap. The study appeared in the February 12, 2007 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. |
Wed, 21 February 2007 Compression of Morbidity Antiaging has become a big business with an enormous number of practioners and companies peddling various pills, potions, and surgical procedures to "reverse the aging process." On this Short Run we explore research concerning the theory of compression of morbidity. The idea is that lifestyle choices have a big impact on when and how severely a person develops disabling conditions and illnesses as he or she ages. Please cast a vote for Fitness Rocks at Podcast Alley by clicking here. References: Comments[0] |
Wed, 14 February 2007 Can Onions and Garlic Prevent Cancer? In this week's Short Run we review an article from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that looks at the cancer-fighting potential of onions and garlic. Remember that a healthy diet involves eating a wide variety of plant-based foods that allows for the synergistic effects of a host of different phytonutrients. Get your nutrients from the whole foods - not supplements. Check out the great running story submitted by listener Mike Ormsby. The story is under the "Listener Story" button in the sidebar. If you have a story, essay, or poem about your experiences with living a healthier lifestyle please send it in for consideration to be posted on the Fitness Rocks Website. Vote for Fitness Rocks at Podcast Alley by clicking here. References: |
Wed, 7 February 2007 
What's in Your Smoothie? First - what's a short run? It is a midweek podcast that is only 5 - 10 minutes in length. Fitness Rocks Short Runs are quick tips to keep you on the path toward healthy living. Getting a variety of different whole plant-based foods is essential to good health and maximizing your chances of avoiding chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. A diet that provides multiple combinations of phytochemicals (nutrient chemicals from plants) from different fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and healthy oils is the best way to get this disease-fighting benefit. You just can't do it with pills and supplements. That's where smoothies come in. Smoothies are a fast and easy way to stack your diet with a huge mix of phytonutrients. In this inaugural episode of Fitness Rocks Short Runs I give you my breakfast smoothie recipe and discuss the health promoting aspects of the different ingredients. This smoothie is big - around 550 calories. If you're on a calorie-restricted diet you have two options:
The Smoothie:
You'll never know the broccoli is in there. I keep about half the orange peel intact and just blend it in. I put the kiwfruit in with the peel on. Wash everything with water first. Use organic fruit and vegetables when possible. I use either orange juice or pomegranate juice. Pomegranate juice is pretty tart. The focus of this smoothie is maximizing consumption of phytochemicals - the disease-fighting superheroes in a plant-based diet. Here's a brief (not exhaustive) rundown on what this smoothie will give you:
Overall, this smoothie is high in fiber, high in potassium, low in sodium, and chock full of phytonutrients. Even at 550 calories (approximately) it is a lot more diet friendly than a plate of bacon and eggs. It's a dose of phytochemotherapy every morning! Experiment on your own - you can blend anything. Here's a tip - don't put spinach in your smoothie. Save spinach for your steamer or other dishes you may cook. Spinach will turn your smoothie an unappetizing brown color, and it just doesn't taste good in smoothies. I also eat a 1/4 cup of walnuts with the smoothie - another 180 calories - but lots of healthy unsaturated fat, including omega-3 fatty acids. Click here to vote for Fitness Rocks at Podcast Alley Music: I feel Fantastic - Jonathan Coulton References: Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables from Additive and Synergistic Effects
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