Archive for January, 2010

Seven Myths About Cholesterol

Most people today think they know what cholesterol is, where it comes from, and what it does.  If you follow the popular media or most diet books, cholesterol is a deadly poison that comes from food which clogs arteries and causes heart attacks.  Like most things having to do with the human body, however, the role of cholesterol is much more complicated than this simple picture suggests.  In fact, all these assumptions are so oversimplified that they are flat-out wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

Making Successful New Year’s Resolutions

As we start 2010, and the battle for weight loss rages on, many will make the all too familiar New Year’s resolution to lose weight, exercise and get into better shape.  It is, after all, fairly common knowledge that obesity (particularly abdominal obesity), physical inactivity and smoking all increase the risks of developing chronic diseases and dying prematurely.  A recent study has even estimated the “combined health benefits” of eliminating those three risk factors; showing a 59% lower risk of cardiovascular event and a 77% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Endurance vs Interval Training

For decades, most experts and public health agencies have advocated moderate intensity, long duration exercise to improve health and maintain body weight.  Despite that, more Americans are overweight or obese than ever.  And, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of Americans.  Recently the Institutes of Medicine issued new recommendations urging all Americans to increase the duration of their exercise to at least one hour every day. Read the rest of this entry »