Health and Fitness Video News Feed

Businesses Fret Effects of Swine Flu

A New survey is out on H1N1 Swine Flu and how worried business are about their bottom lines. Read the full story here:

Businesses Fret Effects of Swine Flu

How to Use A Stability Ball

This video demonstrates how to use a stability ball for a wide variety of exercises.

Where to buy a stability Ball

Which Sweeteners Are Best?

According to recent studies, many popular artificial sweeteners--such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose--may be detrimental to consumers' health. Dr. David Friedman, health expert on Lifetime Television's popular morning show, "The Balancing Act", recently revealed the three natural sweeteners that he recommends for optimal health and well-being.




In order to demonstrate why natural sweeteners are best, Friedman first explained the negatives of the artificial options.

"Anything labeled 'artificial' is usually created by chemists in a lab, and therefore is not easily digested by the body," explained Friedman. "Additionally, the chemicals in many artificial sweeteners have been shown to actually stimulate the appetite, which is bad news for people trying to lose weight while using these sugar substitutes."

He also explained that many chemicals are used to modify natural sugar in order to make it calorie-free, including: chlorine, acetone, formaldehyde, benzene (a carcinogen found in oil and gas), and chemicals used in engine anti-freeze and windshield washing fluid. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other laboratory studies, a litany of adverse reactions and ailments has been associated with these sweeteners over the past few decades.

The solution? Three natural, low-calorie sweeteners top Friedman's choices for people and families across the nation.

The first option Friedman recommends is Xylitol, which is extracted from the birch tree and sometimes referred to as birch sugar.

Another of his recommendations is agave nectar. Agave nectar comes straight from the agave plant with no chemical modifications, and is sweeter than table sugar.
"Agave nectar is a great option for vegans because unlike honey, it is not an animal product. It also easily dissolves in liquids, so it makes a great sweetener in beverages like iced tea," Friedman said.

The third natural sweetener he recommends is Stevia. Stevia has been used as a sweetener in South America for more than 1,500 years and is sold in the United States as a nutritional herb. Stevia is 100 percent natural and 300 times sweeter than sugar.
"Just one teaspoon of Stevia replaces one whole cup of sugar," explained Friedman. "The calorie savings add up very quickly."
To find these three natural sweeteners, Friedman recommends going to the local health food store

Foods to Avoid for Weight Loss: Video Tutorial

How Green Tea can help you to lose weight

With so many fad diets around, green tea stands out with a proven, scientific record and has been used for its medicinal and health qualities for thousands of years.



Unlike other weight loss methods, green tea does not require you to alter your diet; it simply compliments other weight loss efforts such as exercise. Scientific studies have illustrated that green tea contains 2 elements, namely caffeine and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which aid weight loss.

Benefits of green tea weight loss:

• Burning fat

• Increasing metabolism

• Blocking conversion of energy into fat

• Helping the body reduce dietary fat

• Regulating blood sugar levels

• Reducing food cravings

Replacing traditional cups of tea or coffee with green tea not only helps individuals to lose weight, it also has a host of associated benefits, helping drinkers to be sharper and more alert at work and generally feel happier and healthier.

Living a Healthy Lifestyle on a Budget

Health and wellness is a privilege that everyone should be able to afford even in difficult economic times. With the right experience and know-how, anyone can make smart choices about healthy living while also being wallet wise.

Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg has mastered the art of staying fit, while also being financially responsible. She is a busy mom of three, runs a private practice in New York City and serves as chief pediatric officer for RealAge.com - an informative Web site that helps people live healthier, longer lives. Through her extensive experience of balancing work, life and wellness, she has learned how to keep living a healthy lifestyle, while keeping out of the red.

Dr. Trachtenberg shares her top five tips for staying healthy on a budget:

Tip 1 - Buy Frozen for Good Nutrition
The fresh produce section at the grocery store can be a budgeter's nightmare as pricey fresh foods can really add up. The budget-conscious can find much needed relief in the frozen food section. Frozen fruits and vegetables typically have the same levels of nutrients as their fresh counterparts, because the produce is frozen at the peak of its ripeness, locking in the maximum amount of nutrients .

Tip 2 - Get Fit in the Great Outdoors
No matter what the season, the outdoors is a great place to move your body and bond with family and friends without the confinement and encumbering expense of a gym membership. Calorie-shedding activities can be enjoyed year round:

* Winter - Ice skate at a local rink or work the biceps with some snow shoveling

* Spring - Get some friends together and form a softball league, or ride a bike on weekends

* Summer - Try to walk instead of driving short distances or take up swimming

* Fall - Get some cardio by raking leaves or challenge yourself to participate in a local road race

On rainy or chilly days, visit the local library and check out a workout video. It can be a lot of fun and doesn't cost a thing.

Tip 3 - Let the games begin!
Lately, board games are making a major comeback with the reinvention of the traditional Family Night. Flexing your mental muscle by opting to play cards, trivia games or parlor games of yesteryear can help cut costs on expensive movie rentals and excessive cable charges. Plus, leisure time spent with friends, family and neighbors is always a healthy and fun way to de-stress.

Tip 4 - Drink to your health!
Water is a necessity and getting the recommended eight glasses a day is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Switching from bottled water to tap can save hundreds of dollars (not to mention it also eliminates the amount of plastic bottles that get discarded!). To ensure tap water is healthy and clean, consider a PUR Water Filtration System, which could save up to $600 each year in comparison to bottled water. PUR is certified to reduce many unwanted contaminants to help ensure drinking water is clean and healthy. Visit www.purwater.com for more details.

Tip 5 - Sweet Dreams
Getting much needed sleep no matter what your age is crucial to mental, emotional and physical health. You will feel better, be more productive at work, have increased levels of physical and mental alertness, and your body will get the rest it needs to fight off diseases. For these reasons, make a commitment to schedule your day so you get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Children, depending on age, might require more.

Earth Hour-the world's largest global climate change event

From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, we know that climate change is already impacting life on our planet.

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm, our employees will take part in Earth Hour-the world's largest global climate change event. By simply turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour at our company buildings and in our own homes, we will join tens of millions of concerned citizens throughout the world in calling for action to save our planet for future generations.

Earth Hour is an event led by the World Wildlife Fund. In 2008, more than 50 million people in 370 cities around the world took part, as the lights dimmed at Sydney's Opera House, Rome's Coliseum, the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even the Google homepage went dark for the day.

This year, Earth Hour will be even bigger. In cities large and small have said they'll participate…with more signing on daily. They will join international cities such as Auckland, Beijing, Bogota, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, and Warsaw.

Energy efficiency isn't just good for the bottom line. We all have a stake in the future of our planet and must learn to operate in ways that don't deplete our world's limited natural resources.

In the weeks leading up to Earth Hour, we plan to take a close look at ways our company can operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce our environmental footprint-not only in our own operations, but throughout our supply chain. Joining Earth Hour is a great way to show our readers and our community that the people genuinely care about their future.

We hope you'll join us in the important and inspiring effort and encourage your own employees, customers and suppliers to take part.

Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and absolutely free. To get more information and to have your business listed among those participating in our community, visit www.earthhour.org /and pledge to turn out all nonessential lights from 8:30-9:30 pm on March 28, 2009.
Don't forget-on March 28th at 8:30 pm, switch off. A simple way to help make the world a better place.

How Not To Weight For The Bus

Let' set the stage. Your downtown and your waiting on the bus. You sit down on a bench and then you notice a sign next to you telling you how much you weight. Sound like fun?

Personally, I think it good advertising from Fitness First

Do you like being humiliated into buying a gym membership? This is the type of fitness advertising that can cross the line, but does it? Do you think this is considered public humiliation?





Read the full story here:

Weighting For The Bus - ANIMAL

Power yoga, the fitness mantra of Bollywood beauties

This is an interesting story on how the Bollywood actors stay fit.


Power yoga, the fitness mantra of Bollywood beauties