It’s nice to be reminded of the benefits of drinking black coffee while we’re drinking black coffee. And we are at the moment. Eat This Not That’s Casey Clark recently captured the good and the bad and it’s mostly good.
Black coffee can reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes, cancer, liver disease and heart disease. Good start. It also may create a healthy gut microbiome and keep that all-important lower GI tract humming. Coffee may make changes in the brain that enhance concentration, motor control and alertness. It’s been found to reduce the risk of dementia, depression, and suicide. It can be a great pre-workout elixir.
On the negative side, coffee may make anxiety and acid reflux worse. That’s it?! We’ll have a second cup!
We’re a big believer in online exercise classes. Ours are about a half-hour long featuring a professional trainer with uplifting music and sometimes conducted in an exotic location. This morning’s session started with a lot of bending, stretching, twisting, and aerobic exertion. We were really breathing hard and sweating. But by the time we got our shoes tied, the class was over.
We recently sampled a Queen Next Door cocktail at South City Kitchen in Atlanta. The gin, honey and lemon drink is essentially better known as a Bees Knees. The experience was also a good reminder that adding a little egg white to the shaker delivers a nice frothy foam on top to jazz up your presentation. Make honey simple syrup by adding water to the honey and stirring that up before adding to the shaker. Shake all ingredients warm before adding ice. Save some lemon slice for garnish. That’s a tip kids. Write it down.
Ford announced that their F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck is rated at up to 580 horsepower with the larger, optional battery. 580. That means an estimated 0 – 60 time of 4.5 seconds. That’s quick. In a truck. That looks like a truck (not like Tesla’s CyberTruck). And that explains the long waiting list to get one.
Longing to live vicariously through those who vacation every day in their RV? Follow Tom & Lorias they re-experience fabulous Key West and make the best of sometimes uncooperative weather. By uncooperative, we mean not enough wind.
Thanks to modern technology, Paul McCartney, who turns 80 this year, is including a virtual duet with John Lennon as part of his Got Back tour set list. Nice touch. Click here. Thank you BestClassicBand.com
The 5th of May is coming right up and before visualizing a Margarita or two, consider prepping for a different traditional Mexican beverage. Bevspot.com has some interesting choices like Michelada, Sangrita, Paloma, Horchata, and Mexican Coffee. Go forth and explore!
The Kentucky Derby is coming up this weekend. Get out the mint, simple syrup or brown sugar, bourbon plus a fancy hat and get ready to enjoy a classic Mint Julep. As the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, over 120,000 cocktails are typically served on Friday and Saturday. 120,000!
MEN’S HEALTH tackled this so-calloed “diet weed’ topic; one that is apparently generating a lot of Buzz. This THCV cannabis variant may have appetite control properties and that would be a welcome change for Buzzed Boomers wanting to enjoy weed without raiding the fridge to soothe the munchies.
Read the article for more details but the conclusion seems to be that more research is needed because the studies so far have been limited to rats.
Rowing machines have a lot of advantages as an exercise device. Invented in 1870, the machines can really contribute to all-around health. Here’s a quick summary of a Women’s Health article.
It’s a full body workout hitting 85% of your muscles. Something like 90 of them
It can be high intensity without the impact. That’s better for Buzzed Boomer bodies
You can row more times a week without getting as sore compared to other types of exercise
It works your core and glutes. That’s good
It can improve your posture. Done right, rowing forces you to sit up straight
It works the large muscles in the lower body, which burns more calories, while still working core, back and arms
It allows both high and low intensity workouts
The resistance can be adjusted to fit you ability and be increased as you progress
You can build new skills while working on proper sequencing of movements
You can track your split times and effort level improvements
You could see fitness level results quicker because you’re using your whole body compared to bikes and treadmills
It’s a good counter-balance to bodyweight exercise because it emphasizes pulling versus the pushing involved in pushups and presses
Rowing machine workouts don’t need to be long because they use so much of the body
It’s accessible to those at all fitness levels and those with low vision
The rhythm of the strokes and the flow can be good for your mental health
Some machines have TV monitors that put you on the water with trainers in exotic locations making for a nice distraction from your calorie burn. Jump on the machine and travel around the world!
Sixty years!! The Beach Boys are celebrating their 60th anniversary of being recording artists with a June 17 re-release of Sounds of Summer. The greatest hits compilation will have some re-mixes enhanced by today’s stereo extraction technology. The 80 song, six LP boxed set will serve as a fitting celebration of a remarkable classic rock band’s career.
We knew caffeine helped provide a pre-workout boost of energy to power through that exercise session. A cup of coffee, or a bit of pre-workout powder (mostly caffeine), can provide a psychological and physical boost. What we didn’t know is that coffee/caffeine may improve recovery after a workout!
“Aside from helping you power through your sweat sesh, drinking coffee before your workout could help speed up your recovery afterward, says Abby Chan, M.S., R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist and the co-owner of EVOLVE Flagstaff in Arizona. After about 15 minutes of exercise, the level of glucose in your blood begins to drop, and your body will typically resort to glycogen (the stored form of glucose in your liver and muscles) for energy, she explains. That said, “there’s some thought that caffeine can mobilize free fatty acids, which your body can then utilize for energy, to spare glycogen,” says Chan. “If you can decrease how much glycogen you’re utilizing during sport, then by possibly utilizing more fatty acids, then theoretically you can recover faster and better because you’re not getting so deep into your energy storage tanks.””
It seems coffee is nearly a miracle drug. We suggest making it illegal.