Fitness Pudding - Where The Proof Is

You might be surprised how much I have been asked this question. I know I am! Some of these women who do ask (no men have asked me yet) have unfortunately eliminated running or excessive walking from their daily routine, in fear of getting saggy breasts. What Does the Research Say? There is no current evidence to support the notion that running CAUSES sagging (ptosis) of the breasts. No studies have directly correlated breast sagging with...

This is a laughing matter. Laughter Yoga is sweeping through the U.S., and making some bold claims. But, does it work, and if so, what is it good for? What is it? In short, Laughter Yoga was invented by Dr. Madan Kataria, a doctor from Mumbai, India – the "Guru of Giggling". During a Laughter Yoga session, the laughter leader progresses the class through different laughter exercises . You can also laugh alone , as the...

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: Would you call Chocolate Cheerios healthy if it said "all natural" on the box? Well, a recent study found that participants rated everything from Chocolate Cheerios, to soda and chips as more healthy, when the packaging contained buzzwords, such as: "Heart Healthy" – Chocolate Cheerios "Antioxidant" – Cherry 7-Up "All Natural" – Tostitos Try it for yourself On a scale from 0 (unhealthy) to 100 (healthy) Would you rate the following versions of apple...

You may have recently learned from several online sources that you have been ruining your metabolism and weight control efforts, simply because you have been drinking water that is room temperature. Their answer: Switch to cold water, and "ignite your body's fat burning furnace". Our question: Is there any truth to this? Where Did This Idea Come From? Prevention.com posted an article "10 Diet Mistakes That Slow Metabolism" , which has been reposted on everything from...

When I was in graduate school, I stumbled across a picture of a prone bridge abdominal exercise (i.e. "plank"), and the caption said it was a "Core Stabilizing Exercise". The next day I saw another magazine with the same plank exercise, but they called it a "Core Strengthening Exercise." Well, which is it? Strength and stability are two completely different ways of training. As a result — in 2007, I wrote an exhaustive, research review article...

The latest myth to be brought to my attention is one of the top 10 exercise cheats "that blow your calorie burn." — holding onto the handles while doing the elliptical machine. Since this made the top 10 of all exercise cheats, get ready to see a bunch of people in the gym refusing to hold on to the handles while doing their cardio! The Health.com article, which was re-posted by Yahoo! states: " ...hanging on...

Are you a "nibbler" or a "gorger"? Online reports are popping up, again, regarding a new study that challenges the notion that frequent, small meals is better than less, larger meals per day for weight loss. For example, Women's Health reposted a recent Time.com article, which states, "don't believe the hype, dieters. Eating five meals a day won't make you any skinnier, a new study shows." Actually, this new study is nothing new, but there is...

We have an obsession with Calories. We fear them, yet crave them. We want to watch them, count them, track them, calculate them, avoid them, and believe we can somehow burn them!? What is a Calorie? Energy is needed to make the body work, but we cannot directly measure this 'energy' in the body. However, we can attempt to measure the heat that is released when energy is used. Calories help us with this conundrum. A Calorie...

Diets, programs, books, and health clubs continue to claim healthy habits can be formed in only 21 days. Recent research suggests that we may need to triple that estimate. Origin of "21 Days" Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon, wrote a book in the 1960's entitled, "Psycho-Cybernetics", which enlightened us to his views of self-image psychology. From his experiences, he pinpointed 21 days as the time it took his patients to see a change in self-esteem...

In the Trending section of Fitness Pudding, I posted a story about a British doctor who supposedly put the classic "tapeworm diet" to the test . Well, I also emailed the story to my Dad, Dr. F.C. Faries, who is a veterinarian, professor, and expert in parasitology with the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense. We had discussed tapeworms over dinner once before, so I looked forward to his response. I thought I...