Well, maybe not. You may have already read the many articles on the subject. The short answer for how much water you need to drink per day is…. It depends! It depends on a lot of factors. This Vogue article is fairly helpful. It sounds like a baseline is around 14 cups per day. Get out the Depends.
– Jet Cannon
Shape.com featured a helpful article on wellness mistakes and what to do instead. Since we have never made those mistakes, we didn’t read further. Here they are:
– Too much lemon water
– Undiluted apple cider vinegar shots
– Overdoing it on the veggies
– Drinking too much water
– Avoiding egg yolks (choosing only egg whites)
– Skipping meals for weight loss
– Overtraining
It’s nice to be right on the money for once!
– Jet Cannon
We love reporting on the benefits of daily walking especially when the number of steps needed appears to drop. That said, the latest studies pretty much agree that more is better up to about 20,000 steps. But as few as 2,500 can lead to longer lives. Here’s the latest details in Time magazine. It’s interesting and hopefully inspires to keep getting out there.
– Jet Cannon
Staying hydrated is important to good health particularly as we age. Besides shooting for a couple liters of water a day, try following your cup of coffee and alcoholic beverage with a glass of water. Both are diuretics and contribute to dehydration. A water chaser will delight your innards.
We’ve yammered on and on about the benefits of daily walking but what if you have a case of planar fasciitis? It can feel like you stepped on a nail. Or worse. Can the right shoes help? Maybe. Prevention.com checked with podiatrists and came up with 30 different shoes they recommend. Learn all about it here.
Fortune has some great suggestions on how to stay fit as we age. Read the entire article here.
Dr. Kirk Erickson, a director of Translational Neurosciences (impressive, eh) starts things off. Erickson’s research shows that as we age, the brain shrinks, specifically the hippocampus which is responsible for memory formation. Exercise can help maintain this portion of the brain. He recommends moderate exercise, like walking, 5 days a week for 30 minutes.
Strength training helps combat age-related muscle loss, and can lead to a longer lifespan. Additionally, balance exercises can help prevent slips and falls—the leading cause of injuries in adults ages 65 and older.
One study showed the simple act of reading articles online and searching topics on Google offered valuable mental stimulation. Doing crossword puzzles, reading books, playing games, practicing hobbies and daydreaming all contribute to mental sharpness.
Stress management, is also a critical part of maintaining mental fitness. Just 10 minutes of meditation a day can improve mood and cognitive agility.
The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory this year warning of the nation’s loneliness epidemic, which negatively impacts health. Social connection reduces the risk of premature death. It’s clear that social and emotional fitness is key to aging well.
A good night’s sleep matters. Poor sleep over the long-term is linked to health conditions including depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. One suggestion is to watch that caffeine.
There’s some good tips kids! Stay fit!
– Jet Cannon
Could coffee plus milk help us recover from exercise faster? Men’s Health reports, “There are many well-established ways to help speed up post-workout repair, ranging from hydrating properly and fueling up on protein for muscle-synthesis support to consuming more omega-3 fats for joint health. Among the most recent solutions, however, is one that comes with a buzz. A study published in the Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry reported that the anti-inflammatory effect of antioxidants (called polyphenols) is vastly enhanced when they react with amino acids. In practical terms, unlocking this could be as simple as adding protein-rich milk to coffee, which is packed with antioxidants. Research into the post-gym benefits of this everyday cocktail is, admittedly, in its early stages. The Danish researchers, however, are buzzing with excitement that increasing polyphenol absorption in this way could prove an effective way to ease swelling and soreness.”
– Jet Cannon
Okay, so we don’t look quite like we did a decade or two ago when were only a shade off Don Johnson but we don’t have to accept a major loss of muscle mass. Michelle Gray, a physiologist and professor of exercise at the University of Arkansas, is quoted in Scientific American saying that, “Proper diet and physical activity can combat some age-related muscle loss. Maintaining muscle comes down to continued movement. Doesn’t matter if you garden or if you ride a bicycle like I do or if you go to the gym. You can help maintain your muscle mass by continuing to do the things that you’re already doing.”
So keep moving, Buzzed Boomers!
– Jet Cannon
Shape Magazine, and many others, have weighed in on the benefits and limitations of doing, say, 15 push-ups a day. Go online and read up. Talk to you doctor and all that. Expecting miracles? Don’t. But chest, arms and core will all benefit from spending a minute a day groveling on the floor.
– Jet Cannon
We’ve often shared what we’ve read about the health benefits of getting those steps in. Walking works. And if you can walk outdoors, it’s even better. Prevention Magazine sums it up.
“Being outdoors is a natural antidote to stress,” says Richard Taylor, Ph.D., the head of the physics department at the University of Oregon, who studies how nature’s patterns affect mental health. His research shows that stress levels plummet by 60% when we view patterns like those found in nature. “Humans evolved for thousands of years outdoors, and our physiology is designed around it,” he says. “But then we built these boxes to live in, and there has been a growing move to be inside more. Our stress levels keep growing because of that too.”
Indeed, study after study over the past two decades has confirmed that green spaces, water, and sunlight confer health benefits that range from improved healing rates after surgery and strengthened immunity to decreased chronic pain. But the impact on mental health might be most dramatic of all.”
– Jet Cannon
Add one more thing to the many benefits of walking for exercise. It can tone and build muscle. USA Today says it’s true. Read about it here.
– Jet Cannon
When Fortune magazine joins the “how-much-water-should-we-drink” chorus, we listen. Why? Because we’re aspiring to be a Captain Of Industry someday. So how much water? Lots. Except it depends. Find your ounces here.
– Jet Water-Cannon
Sleeping too much or too little is bad for our health. But moderate exercise can counteract the bad stuff. “The new research builds upon a large body of work showing just how critical both sleep and fitness are for overall health. Various studies show that healthy amounts of each individually are linked to increased longevity. And at least one suggested that sleep problems tended to increase the chances a subject would die during the follow-up period but that regular exercise helped eliminate that risk.” Read all about it in this New York Times article.
– Jet Cannon
This Prevention.com article details all the muscles used when we do push-ups. It’s pretty impressive given that push-ups don’t require a gym or equipment. The article also explains how to do them propertly.
Meanwhile, a drunk staggers into a bar demanding a beer. The bartender informs him that he is not allowed to serve alcohol to drunken patrons. After a few harsh words, the bartender suggested that the drunk prove he isn’t drunk by doing twenty push-ups on the floor.
As he was doing the push-ups, another drunk staggers into the bar and sees this guy on the floor doing push-ups.
He looks at him for a minute and then nudges him in the ribs saying, “Hey, Pal, I think your girl friend has gone home.”
– Jet Cannon
