Lifestyle choices play a major role in our physical, mental and emotional health. Poor lifestyle choices will lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a suite of other health issues.

Decision processing becomes sluggish as poor health leads to a more sedentary lifestyle. Which will then lead to reduced blood flow to the brain, thus affecting your entire body.

Performance at work, school and in the home becomes mediocre as health issues begin to consume time and finances. Self-esteem and confidence suffer, and affect even otherwise healthy relationships.

Despite the consequences of not living healthy, the number of middle aged adults in America who are obese has risen from 28% to 36% over the last 18 years, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine. The study compared five lifestyle factors of a group of 7,340 middle-aged (40-74 year old) adults from 1988-1994 to a group of 7,811 middle-aged adults from 2001-2006.

5 Healthy Lifestyle Habits

• Physical activity at least 12 times per month
• Consumption of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily
• Maintenance of a healthy weight (BMI between 18.5 and 29.9)
• Moderate alcohol use, if any at all
• Not smoking

What the researchers from Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston found was that there was a 10% drop from the 1998-1994 to the 2001-2006 group in the number of middle-aged persons who undertook physical activity 12 or more times per month, and an 8% increase in obesity for the same group.

Despite the fact that tobacco use increases cancer risk, the percent of the population that smokes did not change in the seven year interval between the groups. Even while “health kicks” are on the rise, the number of people consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day has dropped from 42% to 26%.

Continue reading: “New Study: Following a Healthy Lifestyle is on the Decline in the US”

It seems impossible, but where you live could be a huge factor in your body weight.

A recent study of 450,000 Americans showed that people with lower body mass tended to live in neighborhoods that allowed them more access to walkable living, including being able to walk/bike to work or to their local fruit and veggie shops. Similarly, there was a correlation between less “walkability” and increased body mass, or total body weight.

This could be related to the fact that areas related to increased weight caused people to drive to every single one of their destinations. Think of the average person who drives 5 or 10 minutes for a gallon of milk or a fast food meal.

Have you ever told someone you were walking a mile to get a healthy meal? You would most likely get some strange feedback, because most people could never imagine seeing an actual human being walking to eat instead of driving! Truly, the “drive for ease and convenience” in the form of one-stop shopping or fast food centers, is taking huge toll on the waistline.

Continue reading: “Can Where You Live Make You Fat?”

From Japan, China, India and the ancient Mayan cultures, many traditional societies intuitively knew that eating late at night was not good for our digestive systems.

Our medical science has repeatedly attempted to show that it shouldn’t matter how late we eat just as long as we are burning the calories. Well I think we all know by now how wrong the information provided by our modern medical system can be. We currently have more digestive and health problems than anytime in recorded history!

Ancient cultures on the other hand, tell us that our ideal digestion requires us to eat an earlier, lighter dinner.

Continue reading: “Does It Matter How Late We Eat?”

If you consume soy on a regular basis, then you may want to take a look at this new study coming out of Harvard School of Medical Health and published in Human Reproduction.

According to researchers, men who regularly consume soy foods, soy milk & soy isoflavones are more likely to suffer from a lower sperm count. Obese & overweight men are at the highest risks of decreased sperm concentration, as a result of soy consumption.

Previous studies have confirmed a decreased fertility in animals with a high consumption of soy, but conclusive data for humans is hard to come by. Therefore, researchers studied the diet of 99 men who went to Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center between the year 2000 & 2006. They looked at how much soy they consumed within a three month period, while simultaneously taking sperm samples.

They concluded that the men who ate soy foods in abundance, did indeed have a lower sperm concentration, approximately 41 million sperm/ml less when compared to those who did not consume any soy foods.

Continue reading: “Does Soy Affect Your Sperm Count?”