Reebok Zigtech

The cat is finally out of the bag, all these naked viral videos by Chad Ochoinco / Chuck Liddle and DaxShepard are  actually Reebok Zigtech commercials.

So what is the concept behind ZigTech? It is actually developed by former NASA engineer - a wavy foam platform that transfers energy from the heel area towards the forefoot as pressure is applied through footstrike. The idea to reduce fatique so you can last longer on a run.

Lets push all the marketing lingo aside and hear what an exercise physiologist has to say.

Don’t Share Ear buds

You remember your mom telling you not to share hats or hairbrushes because you might catch something? Well, here’s something else to add to the Do-Not-Share list—ear buds. The Online Journal of Health and Allied Sciences reports that infection-causing bacteria was found on 92 percent of earphones that belonged to people who shared them with others. Sixty-four percent of headphones that belonged to people who rarely or never shared their headphones had the bacteria. A study done at India’s Manipal University found that 93 percent of ear swabs of people who shared ear buds had harmful bacteria, compared to only 8 percent for those who never shared ear buds. To reduce your risk of having a harmful bacteria colony in your ears, clean your ear buds every month with alcohol-free cleaner.

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

Coffee Alternatives

Most people drink coffee for the morning pick-me-up, but if you are wanting to cut down on your jitters or just your caffeine intake, you have choices.
• Herbal coffees are an option, such as Teeccino. It contains no caffeine, but it may provide a natural alertness. Its main ingredient is chicory root. People who are trying to give up coffee for health reasons often turn to Teeccino. It tastes a lot like coffee, but a little sweet and smoky. It contains heart-healthy potassium and inulin that helps aid digestion. Teeccino is safe for even kids to drink and comes in a variety of flavors.
• Yerba Mate is made of South American holly tree leaves. You can find it in brands such as Guayaki, which a very environmentally friendly company that is focused on restoring the rain forests. Guayaki has less than half the caffeine of coffee. Its flavor is very herbal. It has high levels of antioxidants and heart-healthy potassium.
• Morning Matcha is made of green-tea leaves ground into powder. It also contains about half the amount of caffeine of coffee. It tastes similar to steeped green tea, but has more of a kick. It has about three times the antioxidants of bagged tea, giving you extra protection from heart disease and cancer. It is pricey, though. One jar, which contains 15-20 servings, costs $33.
photo credit: Chris Owens

BK Menu & Nutrition

Are you ever curious about what is actually in the fast food you’re eating? I decided to check out Burger King’s nutrition facts to see how their sandwiches compared. Here’s the low-down.

BK Veggie Burger
• 420 calories
• 16 grams of fat
• 2.5 grams of saturated fat

Whopper
• 670 calories
• 40 grams of fat
• 11 grams of saturated fat

Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
• 800 calories
• 46 grams of fat
• 8 grams of saturated fat

The coolest part of the website is their interactive nutrition facts. You can look up any menu item and add or subtract sandwich toppings and see how the nutrition facts change. For example, if you subtract the mayo from the BK Veggie Burger and add mustard you cut out 80 calories, 8 grams of fat and 1.5 grams of saturated fat. Check out the website.
photo credit: tiltti

Coffee: Pros and Cons

Pros
• Coffee’s antioxidants may reduce cell damage linked to Parkinson’s disease and reduce inflammation that leads to Alzheimer’s.
• Coffee has antibacterial and anti-adhesive qualities, so it may keep bacteria from causing cavities and it could cut your risk of oral cancer in half.
• Premenopausal women who drank 4 or more cups of Java a day had a 38 percent lower risk for breast cancer.
• Two or more cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of gallstones.
• Two to five cups a day may reduce your risk for skin cancer by up to 17 percent.
• Three to four cups a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 percent.

Cons
• Espresso may raise LDL “bad” cholesterol.
• More than 500 mg of caffeine can worsen anxiety by increasing stress hormones and raise blood pressure, a Duke University study found.
• Polyphenols in coffee can block your body’s absorption of iron and calcium.
• Additives such as cream and sugar add lots of empty calories.
• If consumed habitually, it may cause your adrenal glands to be exhausted.
• It contains carcinogens.
• It has been associated with low birth weight, birth defects, miscarriages, premature birth, inability to conceive, and sluggish sperm.
• It irritates the lining of the stomach and can cause digestive disorders.

Just how much caffeine is in your drink?
• 1 cup decaf coffee or tea: 2 mg or more
• 1 cup hot cocoa: 9 mg
• 1 cup green tea: 20 mg
• 12-oz. can Diet Coke: 47 mg
• 1 cup black tea: 47 mg
• 1-oz. shot espresso: 64 mg
• 8.4-oz. can Red Bull: 80 mg
• 1 cup home brewed coffee: 95 mg
• 14-oz. Dunkin’ Donuts hot coffee: 178 mg
• Grande Starbucks Pike Place Roast: 330-500 mg
photo credit: visualpanic

Trader Joe’s Breaded Chickenless Nuggets vs. Morningstar Farms Chicken Nuggets

Trader Joe’s Breaded Chickenless Nuggets vs. Morningstar Farms Chicken Nuggets

Both of these brands of vegetarian chicken nuggets are quite tasty. Trader Joe’s comes out on top for nutritional value, though.

Morningstar Farms Chicken Nuggets
• Serving size: 4 nuggets
• Calories: 190
• Total fat: 9 grams
• Saturated fat: 1.5 grams
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 600 mg
• Total carbohydrates: 19 grams
• Dietary fiber: 4 grams
• Sugars: 2 grams
• Protein: 12 grams
Trader Joe’s Breaded Chickenless Nuggets
• Serving size: 4 nuggets
• Calories: 130
• Total fat: 5 grams
• Saturated fat: 0 grams
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 310 mg
• Total carbohydrates: 15 grams
• Dietary Fiber: 5 grams
• Sugars: 0 grams
• Protein: 12 grams
photo credit: PurpleDinosaur

C9 by Champion® Seamless Racerback Bra Review

One true essential components to every woman's work out is the sports bra.  While there are a lot of factors when choosing a sports bra I thought I would share one that have been very happy with.  The C9 by Champion is one of the most comfortable bras I have ever worn.  This sports bra is seamless and made out of comfortable nylon and spandex.  Because of its flexible nature if you are looking for something that is going to glue them to your chest this may not have quite the support that you are looking for.  If you are comfortable with some bounce and some breath-ability this is it.

Hamilton Beach Rice cooker

Long ago I discovered the power of having a rice cooker.  It is one of my most used appliances.  I have had the Hamilton Beach rice cooker (20 C) for close to two years now and its still running strong.  I was in the market for a large rice cooker with a very small budget.  There are pros and cons to this cooker but over all I have been happy with it for my purposes.

Pros:

As with any rice cooker assuming it works; I love being able to start it, leave it alone and come back to cooked rice

I have cooked several types of rice including: sushi rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, and lots of brown rice and it always does a good job.

Very Affordable got mine on sale for about $25.oo

Easy to clean

Has a warm setting so if I get behind in meal preparation I don't have to worry about the rice getting cold.

Cons:

While its easy to clean, it tends to boil, bubble and make a mess

It says 20 cups but realistically couldn't hold that.   Think the most I have dared to put in there was 8 cups of uncooked rice(which probably was double that in cooked).  The rice came out good but I wouldn't dare to try put any more in there.  I usually borrow another rice cooker when I have large groups that I am cooking for.

Skip This: Olive Garden Manicotti Formaggio

It's got three different kinds of cheese stuffed inside pasta shell. 940 calories
46 g fat (25 g saturated fat) and a fluid retention level of  2,530 mg sodium.

Product Review: Boca VS Quorn Chicken Patties

Boca Meatless Chik 'n Patties Original

160 calories
6 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
430 mg sodium

VS

Quorn Naked Chik 'n Cutlets (1 cutlet)

80 calories
2.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated fat)
420 mg sodium

Quorn wins! It manages to cut a few calories and less fat.

Skip This: Au Bon Pain Caprese Sandwich

Fresh mozzarella, tomato, romaine, and basil pesto may sound harmless, but this sandwich have more fat than BK's Whopper Jr. or a McDonald's Quarter Pounder. It's got 680 calories, 32 g fat (15 g saturated fat) and a whopping 1,200 mg sodium.

America's Best Hospitals

Take a look and see if your regional hospital made the list.

1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore


2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.


3. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles


4. Cleveland Clinic


5. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston


6. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell


7. University of California, San Francisco Medical Center


8. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia


9. Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis


10. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston

For a complete list, visit US NEWs. You can also search hospital by their specialty.
photocredit:j.reed

Vita-mix 4500 product review

About a year ago I finally made the commitment to buy a high powered blender. Having used a Vita-mix previously and being impressed I was pretty excited to get one of my own. That first week I don't think I ate hardly anything solid; everything was blended. I made lots of smoothies, soups, purees, and sauces. While I do not use the vita-mix everyday it is still one of the most, if not the most used appliance in my kitchen. The differences I found between my vita-mix and the cheap blender that I had been using were quite vast:

My cheap blender, yes it would make fruit smoothies but there would invariably be chunks. Which in a fruit smoothie isn't the end of the world but when you are making a green smoothie with spinach you really don't want green chunks(the whole point is to get the greens with out tasting them!). The vita-mix takes care of that completely I've never had a green chunk and the smoothie is smooth.

The vita-mix can also blend things and get them smooth that a regular blender rarely if ever accomplishes. Ill blend nuts and use them as a thickener in a sauce (you would never know that's what i use because its never gritty). I blend tough vegetables into vegetable purees and soup bases. If I blend up a head of broccoli you would have no idea what it was with out tasting it because its so smooth.

Because of its high power it will actually heat up your soup if you leave it in there a few minutes. I make a very simple broccoli soup. Sometimes Ill steam the broccoli early or use left overs from the fridge. Ill leave it blending for a few minutes and the vita-mix will heat it back up.

The large capacity is helpful too. It certainly makes entertaining a lot easier, especially if I am trying to get a fruity desert out to all my guests quickly.

My only warning with the vita-mix is that its loud! be prepared to have your cat run every time you turn it on. Although usually you wont have it on but for a few seconds. It does its job quickly. Occasionally a piece of fruit will get stuck under the blade and not get blended but I find that's not even that common. It usually happens when I do not add much liquid to aid in the blending process.

One of my other draws to the vita-mix over other high powered blenders is that a friend of mine has a Vita-mix from the 70s and it still works, and well at that. It was easier to hand over the cash for it knowing that Its build to last and will be around for years to come.

Product Review: Roomba 500 series

I am a lazy guy, if there's something that can help me to clean less, I'm all ears. I have owned 4 roomba since 2002. The first 3 were killed by my dogs fur, the only survivor is my 2 year old Roomba 500 series. If you have pets, don't get anything lower than a 500 series, the older generation were not designed to handle fur.

One of the down side of being allergic to dust is that I must clean often, especially we have carpet. Let me tell you this, the Roomba WILL NOT replace regular vacuuming, you will still need to use your upright. However, the Roomba will reduce your vacuuming frequency. With 2 dogs in the house, I run the Roomba once a day, it learned my 2300 sqft home terrain and not miss a spot. Very impressive. I get a full bucket load EVERY DAY. Clean up is not bad either. With the addition of the Roomba, my house is able to cut down to Vacuuming only once a week with our Dyson. Not bad at all.

Here's a video of my Roomba in action, also my dogs are featured.

Product Review: 3M Filtrete

If you have allergies, make sure you change your AC filter monthly, especially if you have pets at home. Years ago when I was bachelor, AC filter was the last thing on my list, it's amazing how marriage can change a guy :) Never use the el cheapo blue wire filter, its cheap and nasty, invest in a good one like the 3M Filtrete. With 2 dogs in my house and living in Florida, the AC runs constantly and a good quality filter is needed. Every month when I change out the filter and compare it to last months? I can tell the difference by the color. Do yourself a favor, change that filter, if you don't? It's going into your lungs.

Product Review: "All" Free and Clear Liquid Detergent

Couple of years ago I had 2 anaphylactic shock, the first one was not so bad, my throat swelled up so much that I had to go to the ER for an epi cocktail shot to open up the airway. The second shock was severe, my face swelled up so bad that I was not able to see, I was barely breathing.

So ever since then, my home have changed quite a bit to accommodate my life threatening allergic reaction. One of the biggest change was laundry detergent. Thanks to my wife, she did her research and was able to find a detergent that will not trigger an attack for me. This detergent have no smell, it's gentle for the skin and does not aggravate my skin. Thumbs up!

Product Review: Magic Bullet

As a lazy guy that helps my wife "cook" periodically, the magic bullet is awesome. First of all, I hate washing traditional glass blender, it's heavy, its huge and I need to wash the blender gasket, the blade, plus my glass. But with the magic bullet, the lazy factor allows me to wash the blade, finish my drink, THEN i wash the same cup I blend in. Yes, as a guy this is very important :)

I think the size factor also make this blender attractive, I can make several different things in a short time. Besides smoothies, I can make pasta sauce, microwave the container, make a veggie omelet without the mess.

I have owned the unit for 2 years now, for $49 - it is a good investment. Thumbs up!

Product Review: Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face wash

I have never been a fan of facial products, growing up I only knew about 3 things: Shampoo, Soap and hair gel. So life after marriage is an experience, there were times where my wife insisted on me testing certain products with her, I never quite got into it simply because they all make you smell like flower afterwards.

After lots of trial and error, I've finally settle on a product that I can recommend. Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash, this stuff rocks, it cleans your face, if you leave it on for a minute, you'll really feel refresh and it doesn't  dry up your skin like other products do. Price is $5 and you don't smell like a girl. Share your favorite product in the comment area.

Acetaminophen - leading cause of liver failure

Never underestimate over the counter drugs like DayQuil, Ny-Quil, Panadol, and Tylenol. According to the FDA,overdoses of acetaminophen have been linked to 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths. Here's a video from AP News photo credit: trekkyandy

Unhealthiest Drinks 2009

According to Men's Health Magazine, the Unhealthiest Drinks in America are the following:

1. Snapple Tropical Mango Antioxidant Water (20-ounce bottle)


2. Rockstar Original (16-ounce can)


3. Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino (13.7-ounce bottle)


4. Starbucks Venti 2% Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate (20 ounces)


5. Red Lobster Traditional Lobsterita


6. 
   
   Baskin-Robbins
   
   
   Large Ice Cream Soda with Vanilla Ice Cream Float (32 ounces)
   
   Baskin-Robbins Large Ice Cream Soda with Vanilla Ice Cream Float (32 ounces)


7. Così Gigante Double OH! Arctic (23 ounces)


8. Cold Stone Creamery Gotta Have It PB&C Shake


9. Smoothie King’s The Hulk, Strawberry (40 ounces)


10. Baskin-Robbins Large Chocolate Oreo Shake

In my opinion, number 10 is just plain outrages, 2600 calories, 135g fat, 263g sugars and 1700mg sodium. Click here for the original article.

photo credit:powerbooktrance