Could this very common food & supplement really reduce stress & improve mood?

Could this very common food & supplement really reduce stress & improve mood?

Studies in the past 10 years have revealed a very strong connection between the health of our digestive system and our brain, in particular when it comes to coping with stress and overall well-being.

In this article, I discuss how (chemically) the health of our digestive system affects our overall sense of happiness and talk about a new study which investigated the effect of a common supplement on stress hormones and emotional well-being.

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How to make sure your Cortisol levels are under control (and why it's critical that you do)

How to make sure your Cortisol levels are under control (and why it's critical that you do)

In this article, I talk about Cortisol, our "stress hormone", and I cover:

  • What it is
  • Problems caused by high Cortisol
  • What causes high Cortisol
  • What you can do to keep Cortisol levels in check
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Health & Fitness Digest - June 26

Health & Fitness Digest - June 26

In today's digest:

  • Regular Yoga practice shown to significant reduce stress, menopause & depression symptoms, and increase quality of life
  • Hypoxic Training significantly improves VO2max in trained runners
  • Doctors issue strong warnings about LED lights
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5 steps to become SELFISH on EMAILS (and why you should)

5 steps to become SELFISH on EMAILS (and why you should)

Most people get overwhelmed by the volume of emails they see in their inbox in the morning, and by the time they address them all, half the day (and their productivity) is gone.

Here is an alternative approach to dealing with emails that allows you to regain your sanity, boost your productivity, and keep stress levels low.

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Health & Fitness Digest - 10 March

Health & Fitness Digest - 10 March

In today’s digest:

  • An amazing new stem cell procedure promises massive potential for anti-aging and reversing disease
  • This daily habit is causing you to destroy your sleep, memory, learning ability, and hormones - you have to stop!
  • Low Vitamin D during pregnancy increases child risk of Multiple Sclerosis by 90%
  • Yet another study showing that increasing protein while dropping carbs is the key to fat loss
  • Higher intake of Vitamin B6 (in women) and B12 (in men) associated with lower risk of depression
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The Health & Fitness Digest - Feb 12

The Health & Fitness Digest - Feb 12

In today's digest:
- Study shows that long-distance steady running leads to brain shrinkage
- Each extra hour of sitting increases risk of diabetes by 22%, even if you exercise daily
- Eat your fruits "before" your workout but not "after", and limit quantities
- More than half of the world's workforce are saying that they're close to "burning out" because of work stress

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Top 5 reasons for feeling tired all the time – Part 1: physiology

Top 5 reasons for feeling tired all the time – Part 1: physiology

Do you ever feel like you’re having to force yourself to get out of the bed in the morning?
Do you struggle to maintain energy levels throughout the day and find it hard to get work done in the afternoon?
Do you feel so tired when getting to the bed that you can’t actually fall asleep?
 
You’re not the only one. “Chronic fatigue” is a very common problem affecting millions of people, and especially those seeking to achieve a lot in life.
 
Reasons for “chronic fatigue” can be classified as physiological (physical) and psychological (mental).
 
In this post (Part 1) I’ll address the Physiological (physical) aspects. In Part 2, I’ll discuss Psychological aspects.

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The High Performance Health & Nutrition Digest

The High Performance Health & Nutrition Digest

In today’s post:

  • Folic acid potentially dangerous to mother and child
  • Dark chocolate: a powerful tool to reduce cardiovascular risk factors
  • Harvard study says marathon training makes you fat
  • Cyclists and triathletes: Red Bull is BS
  • Large-scale Harvard study demonstrates that low-carb diets are far superior to low-fat for weight loss
  • Male triathletes: watch your testosterone
  • Just one alcoholic drink by pregnant mothers is enough to cause growth retardation of baby
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So… should you eat red meat or not?!

So… should you eat red meat or not?!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have read the headlines and stories and heard the reports exploding over the “WHO says red meat causes cancer” story last week. 

Vegans were smug. Paleo people went on the attack. Virtually everyone voiced an opinion on it. 

For this reason, I’ll refrain from voicing my own opinion on the matter (frequent readers will know my opinion anyway). 

So my aim in this post is to present the facts, and let the reader use his/her own judgment and decide on a course of action. So here we go.

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Do this test to find out if you’re even capable of losing weight

Do this test to find out if you’re even capable of losing weight

Many people struggle to lose weight despite doing all the right things. And by “right things”, I don’t mean the advice commonly dished out by nutritionists and medical doctors (these obviously don’t work), but rather the scientifically-based advice geared towards getting your body in balance. 

There is a simple test I ask people to do to find out whether their body is even capable of burning enough fat in the first place: the results will shock you.

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The Health & Nutrition Digest

The Health & Nutrition Digest

I typically go through 20-40 research papers on a weekly basis, looking for interesting findings, which can be implemented in pursuit of high performance.

Here is a summary of some of the most recent interesting findings I came across:

  • New evidence explains how exposure to blue light is hampering your children’s physical development.
  • 64% higher risk of developing diabetes if you eat pesticide-laden fruits and veggies.
  • “Diet soda” makes you “eat more” and “eat worse”.
  • This one surprised me: ice-cold drinks not the best way to cool down during endurance races!
  • Finally, some scientific evidence showing that the Paleo Diet outperforms “recommended diets”.
  • New evidence that a “low carb high fat” diet is superior in treatment of diabetes than typically recommended diet.

Read more in this week’s post.

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