Can Your Mobile Phone Really Keep you Healthy?

fitnessModern western societies are swamped with the most advanced communication technology the world has ever seen. They’re also – almost universally – suffering from epidemics of obesity and preventable deaths from related conditions like diabetes. Are the two related? Well possibly. Certainly, we live more sedentary lives than when we were chasing our dinner. However, mobile technology can be a good guy as well as a villain in this story, with plenty of apps offering to keep an eye on your exercise program, monitor your health and help the disabled live more active lives. Continue reading Can Your Mobile Phone Really Keep you Healthy?

Interbike 2013: Kids Feel the Honey Stinger

HoneyStingerKidsKids are as active as you are, maybe even more. But their nutrition requirements are different. So giving them an adult-size nutrition bar might be overkill, and push them over the daily recommended calorie and fat intakes for the day. Honey Stinger is addressing this need with Kids’ versions of their popular Organic Waffles and Organic Chews. Continue reading Interbike 2013: Kids Feel the Honey Stinger

Weekend Reading List (06.29.2013): Lance Comes Clean (Again), Popular Cycling, Summer Food, Helmet History

Lance Comes Clean (Again)

Armstrong

From USA Today/AP: Lance Armstrong: ‘Impossible’ to win Tour de France without doping
The dirty past of the Tour de France came back Friday to haunt the 100th edition of cycling’s showcase race, with Lance Armstrong telling a newspaper he couldn’t have won without doping. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (06.29.2013): Lance Comes Clean (Again), Popular Cycling, Summer Food, Helmet History

Health Guard

Guard-Your-HealthThis week the Army National Guard announced the launch of Guard Your Health, a website developed to be central place for Army National Guard Soldiers and family members to find information and resources on health topics and medical readiness. To this end the site is tailored to the unique health and wellness needs and experiences of Army National Guard Soldiers and families.

Visitors will get access to health tips, expert commentary on health related topics and community forums on a variety of topics including nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, dental health, readiness and family resilience.

Guard Your Health Official Website

Weekend Reading List (01.19.2013) Lance Comes Clean, Stadium Sustainability, Runner Friendly Foods

Lance Comes Clean

From BikeRadar: Lance Armstrong confesses to EPO and blood doping
Lance Armstrong has told Oprah Winfrey that not only did he use EPO and blood dope throughout his career, but that it was also impossible to win seven Tours de France as he did, without drugs. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (01.19.2013) Lance Comes Clean, Stadium Sustainability, Runner Friendly Foods

Clif Bar Gives Back With Community Seed Sharing

Clif Bar doesn’t just throw a handful of organic ingredients into its bars, the company believes in the importance of organic ingredients. To move things a step farther, Clif Bar Family Foundation created Seed Matters, an organization that aims to foster community seed projects. Continue reading Clif Bar Gives Back With Community Seed Sharing

CLIF SHOT BLOKS Adds Chocolate to the Chew

When we met with Clif Bar at Interbike they were very excited to talk about the new flavor, Chocolate Cherry, in their CLIF SHOT Bloks energy chew line. Clif Bar just released the flavor in stores. The reason they were excited about the Chocolate Cherry flavor? It’s difficult to put real chocolate in a chew. It takes a balance to get the chew to be, well, chewy. Continue reading CLIF SHOT BLOKS Adds Chocolate to the Chew

Taste: Luna Fiber Vanilla Blueberry

Most of us could use more fiber in our diets. So the other morning when I needed a quick breakfast that I could grab and eat, the Luna Fiber: Vanilla Blueberry bar hit the spot. The new line of fiber bars from Luna – which is part of Clif Bar – pack extra fiber in a palatable bite. Continue reading Taste: Luna Fiber Vanilla Blueberry

Raisins, Natures Sports Chews

Those California Raisins are putting themselves back in the spotlight, or sunlight. A new study finds that raisins are as effective as sports chews for fueling workouts. Researchers at the University of California-Davis conducted the study, which was published in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition. Continue reading Raisins, Natures Sports Chews

Smartphone Emerges as a Workout Tool

We’ve known for a long time that our smartphone is a great workout accessory, but a market research report released by Lab42 just drives the point home. The agency surveyed 500 social media users currently focused on their health and fitness. Among the respondents, 51 percent use their smartphones during their workout. Of those, 91 percent use their smartphone to listen to music; 43 percent track their pace on their phone; and 33 percent check their email while workout out. Continue reading Smartphone Emerges as a Workout Tool

TrainingPeaks Reaches New Peak with British Cycling

British Cycling has partnered with training software company TrainingPeaks. This means coaches and members of British Cycling, a national club that includes GB Cycling Team as well as avid cyclists, with software and support for discounted rates.

Continue reading TrainingPeaks Reaches New Peak with British Cycling

GU Has a New Brew

The sports nutrition company behind energy gels, GU continues to bring out new ways to deliver electrolytes for those of us who sweat. One of GU’s new products is GU Brew. An electrolyte tablet, GU Brew gets dropped into 16 ounces of water and gives your liquid more energy.

GU Brew is sweetened with stevia leaf extract as instead of sugar or other substance. Stevia is a plant, a natural sweetener said to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. The South American natural sweetener is said to have some health benefits, though some find it to have a licorice-like aftertaste. It’s worth a try.

Each tablet is 10 calories, zero fat, one gram of carbohydrates and provides 55 mg of potassium to restore your electrolytes. GU Brew  comes in 12-count tubes that cost $6.50. Three flavors include Lemon Lime, Orange and Peach Tea.

GU Energy

Burn it Up With Your iPad

The holidays are a time for many things, including seeing family, visiting with friends, eating too much and basically blowing off exercise. That’s probably why come January 2 many people vow to “do it right” and pledge to turn over a new leaf. Maybe one way to start the New Year off right is by better managing your food intake.

One problem say experts is that you can easily shed pounds by reducing intake, but as soon as you go back to old habits – which die hard and quickly – you’re likely to regain the weight. Additionally, people who reportedly lose weight more slowly while increasing the exercise tend to keep the pounds off.

Brian Young realized this, and he’s worked to develop an app that helps you track and burn, hence the Tracknburn app for the iPod and iPhone. It incorporates the BMI formula that “is accurate as it gets,” says Young, who further notes that one of the most popular ways to determine how many calories are needed to sustain the same body weight is to use the body mass index (BMI) and current activity level. Subtract 250 calories a day to lose 1/2 pound per week.

Sounds simple, but Young notes that this formula also changes as you lose weight, making it hard to track over time. The Tracknburn essentially picks up on this, and does the weight loss math for you. This app takes a users individual profile, along with weight goal and helps make responsible choices. It can be used a food log with more than 140,000 common foods to choose from, and by tracking what you can eat, you can more easily lose at the same time. Now that sounds like a winning solution.

Tracknburn Official Website