HealthHacks

Nike has teamed up with Apple to create a new line of products designed specifically to work with the iPod. New shoes sold under the Nike+ label will wirelessly provide information on your workout stats to your iPod nano. The information — which includes time, distance, calories burned, and pace — can be accessed real-time on-screen and through the device’s earbuds. Workout data may also be tracked online at nikeplus.com.

The initiative will also include specially designed clothing that incorporates a water-proof pouch for the iPod.

To get up and running with the service you’ll need an iPod Nano, a Nike+ shoe, and a Nike+iPod Sport Kit. The kit should be available within 60 days. It is expected to be priced at $29. The first Nike+ shoe to be available is the Nike Air Zoom Moire.

More info can be found at nikeplus.com.

Technorati Tags: Nike, Apple, iPod, running, jogging, fitness, gadgets, exercise

The key to motivation is understanding that you are not of one mind. You may have one brain, but within it a battle rages. One faction seeks to satisfy immediate desires; the other longer-term goals. Rarely are these two ever in alignment. And, unfortunately, the short-term faction usually dominates the long-term faction. But there are a few things you can do to get these two to stop fighting and work together.

• Experience tomorrow’s emotions today.
  Picture yourself on a specific date in the future, such as one year from now. Imagine having achieved your goal — and not having achieved it. Really try to experience how you would feel. You have a choice. This time next year you can either have made a change in your life for the better, or you can be one year older and stuck in the same place.

• Measure your progress.
  Anything that can be measured can be improved. Having a visible representation of where you stand allows you to chart your progress. It also serves to focus your mind and keep your challenges ever-fresh. You ran a mile in 8 minutes? Okay great, now see if you can do it in 7 before next month. Just the act of writing something down serves as a commitment mechanism. It is much harder to quit a positive habit when you have an established ritual associated with it; you feel a sense of loss that does not occur when you have no written commitment.

• Read.
  Start reading all you can about the subject: subscribe to magazines; get rss feeds of sites that report on the topic; buy books about it. Surround yourself with information. Don’t worry if some of it is contradictory or confusing; the idea is to be engaged with the subject and to have it in the forefront of your mind.

• Expect to fail.
  No one ever tells you this. They say be optimistic; visualize success. That’s fine, but chances are you will fail to some extent. Everyone does. Success comes not from never failing, but from anticipating setbacks and moving past them. Don’t quit your diet just because you blew it one day; it is a lifetime commitment.

Technorati Tags: motivation, health, fitness, goals

There is a famous theory propounded by neurologist Antonio Damasio that emotions precede feelings. While the terminology can be confusing, what this essentially means is that what we experience as sadness, anger, or fear are really just our mind’s interpretation of our body’s state. Fear, for example, is the experience of your body undergoing rapid changes in the face of some threat: the spike in blood pressure; the quickening of your heart rate; the tension in your muscles.

There is a surprising amount of evidence for this theory. Many people have heard, for example, that if you smile — even if you do not feel happy — that your mood will actually begin to improve. Remarkably, this is well researched and true (and works just as well for other faces: fear, disgust, anger…).

One recent bit of evidence for the theory comes from the success of using beta-blockers to treat post traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Beta-blockers prevent the body from engaging in the familiar flight-or-fight response caused by adrenalin. Because anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear of a stimulus, and fear is the feeling of what happens in your body in response to this stimulus, then by preventing the body’s normal response to fear, anxiety can be un-learned.

An even odder example comes from a new study published in the May issue of Dermatologic Survey. Ten women suffering from chronic major depression were given Botox injections in their ‘frown’ muscles. The theory being that if the physical expression of depression is prior to (and causative of) the mental experience of depression, then preventing frowns could help alleviate the women’s depression. Two months after treatment, 9 of the 10 women no longer met the clinical standards for depression.

Though the study was small (10 patients) and did not involve a control group, the findings are interesting, and should prompt additional research into this area.

If you want more information on the theory, Dr. Damasio’s book, “Looking for Spinoza,” is a great read and provides extensive research on the subject.

Technorati Tags: Antonia Damasio, Botox, depression, anxiety, PTSD, beta-blockers, emotions, health

Or rather where. If you want the best sunscreen available, you won’t be able to buy it legally in the U.S. Unlike other countries, the Food & Drug Administration regulates sunscreens here as a drug rather than a cosmetic product. Because of this — and the inherent delays involved in approval — we Americans can’t use the best protection available in Europe: Mexoryl-based sunscreens.

Mexoryl is highly photostable, so it provides lasting protection. It is also particularly good at protecting against UVA radiation — the type that causes wrinkles and connective tissue damage. And if you think using a standard sunscreen with a higher SPF will help, think again. SPF only tells you about the length of protection you’ll receive from UVB radiation — the type that causes that familiar red burn.

So What Can You Do?

Two new products can help. One is a new sunscreen from Neutrogena called Helioplex. Neutrogena tweaked an existing, already-approved chemical to make it more stable and thus longer lasting. It blocks both UVA and UVB radiation for up to 5 hours — 5 times longer than other sunscreens.

The other product isn’t a sunscreen, but a supplement called Heliocare. Created from a Honduran fern, it doesn’t preclude the need for sunscreen, but can provide additional protection, especially from long-term damage.

Of course the best protection is still to stay inside, but where’s the fun in that.

Technorati Tags: sunscreen, health, SPF, skincare

Does microwaving food in plastic containers cause dangerous chemicals to leach into the food?

Why does your metabolic rate fall as you age?

Can skin care products really turn back time?

Does smoking marijuana moderately during adolescence cause long-term damage to the brain?

What should my resting heart rate be?

Cutting calories significantly has been shown to slow aging — can more moderate reductions do the same?

Does the cholesterol from eggs really harm the heart?

Which is worse for melanoma: moderate long-term sun exposure or intermittent intense exposure?

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, microwaves, metabolism, exercise, cholesterol, aging, melanoma