Life Expectancy Positively Impacted By Moderate To Vigorous Physical Activity

Pooled data from six studies in the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium show that exercise can increase your life expectancy regardless of your weight.
A physical activity level equivalent to 75 minutes of brisk walking per week showed an increase of 1.8 years of life expectancy relative to no activity while 150 minutes per week of the same activity resulted in a 3.4 - 4.5 year gain.  This was evident at all body mass index (BMI) levels and also for black individuals and former smokers.
While keeping your weight at a healthy level should be your goal, exercise can add years to your life regardless.

Leisure Time Physical Activity of Moderate to Vigorous Intensity and Mortality: A Large Pooled Cohort Analysis

Exercise Is Good From Top To Bottom

You won't find much disagreement on the opinion that exercise is good for you.  Some recent studies have added more evidence to how exercise can positively impact your health and well-being.

A study from the University of Cordoba in Spain has shown that Physically active men show better semen parameters and hormone values than sedentary men.

Dr. Martin Juneau and colleagues at the Montreal Heart Institute recently presented a study at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress that shows that Exercise is smart for your heart - and makes you smarter

Dr. Matthew Pontifex and colleagues show that Aerobic exercise may offer new treatment option for ADHD.

Study Shows Multivitamin Use Reduces Cancer Risk

Although at least a third of all U.S adults take a daily multivitamin supplement, there has been some question as to whether there are any benefits for healthy people who are not vitamin deficient.  A study presented on The Journal of the American Medical Association's website now indicates that daily use of a multivitamin could modestly reduce the occurrence of total cancer.

Beginning in 1997 and lasting through June 1, 2011,the study followed 14,641 male physicians (initially aged 50 and over) who participated in the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial.  The results showed     a significant though modest reduction in total cancer for middle aged and older men taking a daily multivitamin supplement.

Multivitamin Use Linked To Lowered Cancer Risk

Don't Sit Down...And If You Do, Get Up!

One hour spent watching TV reduces your life expectancy by 21.8 minutes, regardless of whether you exercise or not.

People who spend the most time sitting down have a relative risk increase of 112 percent for developing diabetes, 147 percent for cardiovascular disease, and 49 percent for dying prematurely, regardless of whether you exercise or not.

These are the results of two separate reports by the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study and the journal Diabetologia.  Apparently, it is the sedentary behavior which causes the health impact.  Even those who exercise on a regular basis are not immune from the ill effects of sedentary behavior.  A lot of jobs today involve sitting in front of a computer and a lot of people spend their leisure time sitting in front of a television.  The way to combat these effects are to simply cut down on the amount of time you spend watching TV and to get out of that chair as much as possible and move around to increase the number of skeletal muscle contractions in the very large muscles of your lower limbs.

Don't stop exercising, just focus on moving more during the rest of the time you're not exercising.

Get Up.  Get Out.  Don't Sit.

Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread

This is basically the same recipe as the Whole Wheat Bread recipe but a little wetter.  Reusing the same container and the scrapings from previous dough mixtures leads to the signature sour dough taste.

2 cups slightly warm water

3 tsp dry yeast
2 tbsp whole flax meal

1/2 tsp ginger

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp sea salt

Mix ingredients well in a bowl with a wooden spoon or something similar.

Place dough in a covered container with the cover left slightly ajar to prevent it being air tight and set aside to rise for 2 or 3 hours.

Put container in the refrigerator and leave for one to two weeks.

Remove dough, form into a loaf shape, and place in a bread pan lined with non – stick foil or parchment paper and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour while preheating oven to 375°.

Bake for about 50 minutes and let cool on a wire rack for about an hour. Bread will slice better if refrigerated for a few hours first.

Do not wash the container that stored the refrigerated dough. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make more dough and then scrape what was left in the container into your new batch of dough. This will cause the new batch and subsequent batches of dough to take on a great sourdough flavor.

Italian Sausage The Vegan Way

Vegan Italian Sausage

This recipe tastes great on pizza or sandwiches made from homemade bread and topped with Tomato Sauce, peppers, and onions.

Two 15.5 oz cans of garbanzo beans (chick peas) rinsed and drained.

One boiled potato, skinned

3 oz red wine

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fennel seed

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tsp coriander

1 tsp oregano

¼ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp caraway seed

3 tbsp Grape Nuts

4 tbsp Whole Wheat flour

¼ cup water

Preheat oven to 350°.

Using a potato masher, mash the beans and the potato together into a paste.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the paste.

Mix everything together well.

Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and form into patties or links as preferred.

Bake on a parchment paper covered baking sheet for 40 minutes and let cool.

A Delicious Sandwich Spread

Bean Spread

This is so simple but so delicious and versatile.

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), rinsed and drained

Sauer's Original Barbecue Sauce (or your low sugar/no oil favorite)

Mt. Olive no sugar added sweet relish

Place beans in food processor, add 2 rounded tbsp of relish and about a 3 second squirt of barbecue sauce.

Run until you have a smooth spread.

Use on bread as a sandwich spread or as a topping for baked sliced potatoes, etc.