How Much Is Too Much?

It is a well-known postulate that too much of a good thing can trigger adverse effects.  Research has pinpointed severe health hazards associated with overhydration, following several cases of harmful health effects and even death in athletes.  This condition, coined exercise-associatedhyponatremia (EAH), occurs when the proportion of water to salt in the body becomes too large.  Mitchell Rosner, a kidney specialist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, stated, "When the salt level in the blood falls too low, it leads to significant neurological problems and can be fatal." Symptoms can begin with nausea and headaches, and if left untouched may lead to seizures, severe confusion, and coma. The primary reason for this is the misconception that drinking more water than needed will have no harmful affects, can hold off dehydration for a longer amount of time, and may even improve performance.

There is no denying water is a vital part of our diet and has many health benefits, so how do we know when we have reached too much? Rosner advises that the best way to prevent EAH as well as dehydration is to “[allow] your body to tell you when you need a drink.” In other words, drink when you are thirsty, not to improve performance.

Exercising During Pregnancy Can Prevent Alzheimers

Recent studies have shown that pregnant women who exercise regularly can help prevent neurodegenerative diseases to their unborn child. Prenatal exercise improves brain plasticity. It also decreases toxic protein deposits, inflammation and oxidative stress. These effects ward off neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative diseases include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's. This gives pregnant women another reason to work out.

Pregnant women should exercise anyway in order to prevent many things not just neurodegenerative diseases. But this just gives one more reason to do it. We do not really know if it is cmpletely proven to help yet but it couldn't hurt. Mice have been tested to see the effects but in about fifty or sixty years we will be able to see if it really prevents the diseases. In the mean time though, I think women should exercise while pregnant.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/foas-pww092611.php

The Truth About Toning Shoes Revealed

The new toning shoes that hit the market not too long ago claimed to tighten and exercise the buttocks, thighs and calves. In an article in the New York Times, this claim has been put to the test in recent studies. " Dr. Mercer’s study joins a small but growing body of science about toning shoes, much of which does not support the makers’ claims. A study conducted last year by exercise physiologists at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, for instance, found that muscle activation and calorie burning did not change whether people wore ordinary athletic shoes or any of three different models of toning shoes. “There is simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone,” the authors concluded." There has been widespread disappointment with the shoes, and this year there has been several lawsuits filed against footwear companies claiming that the shoes did not fulfil their promise.

I am not all that surprised after reading this article in the New York Times. When these shoes first came out looking like Herman Munster gym shoes, I thought there was no way that these goofy looking shoes could help you lose more weight and tone the body. Many companies have since remodeled the shoe' look, making it less of an eyesore, but keeping the rocker-shaped sole. It seemed to be just another quick fix scheme for people to buy into, in hopes of a better looking body with fast results. There are no shortcuts when it comes to fitness, but if these shoes are helping people get out and exercise more than they would normally, then in a way they are doing their job.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/can-shoes-really-tone-the-body/

http://www.livestrong.com/