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New App Acts as a Digital Fitness Coach

Practically everything has gone digital these days. Daily activities like work, corresponding with family and friends, paying bills and making purchases are increasingly being completed in a digital format. It looks like even our health, diet and fitness is taking a digital turn.

A new app is being released in conjunction with a wristband that will help one monitor his health and activity levels. The new app is called Larklife and acts as a digital personal coach that keeps tabs on your fitness level as well as your diet and the amount of sleep you are getting.

Larklife comes with a wristband, which gathers data about activities within your body and transmits the information to your mobile device. The app will let you know if you are not getting enough exercise, are not consuming enough fruits and veggies or if you are not getting in your eight hours of sleep each day.

The app will provide advice throughout the day depending on what you are doing with your body. If you wake up in the morning with minimal sleep, for example, then the app may recommend that you consume an extra helping of protein for breakfast to help improve focus, which is often lacking when someone is fatigued from a poor night’s rest. Likewise, if you complete an intense exercise session, it may advise you to consume extra H2O to stay hydrated. The wristband will even remind you to stand up and stretch if you have been sitting for an extended period of time.

For serious dieters, the app and wristband will record and log your meal times as well as keep track of the foods you consumed and provide advice on the foods you should prepare for your next meal.

Larklife was created with information gathered from a team of experts in the field of fitness, nutrition, sleep and neuroscience.

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Can too Much Sitting be Hazardous for Your Health?

Can sitting shorten your life span? The idea of sitting yourself to an early grave sounds farfetched, though a new study done at the University of Sydney suggests that there may in fact be a correlation between too much sitting and dying of natural causes.

Hidde van der Ploeg, the head of the research team, collected data from over 200,000 adults past the age of 45. From the sample, it was discovered that those who reported sitting for 11 hours or more a day were more likely to experience common health problems than those who sat for just four hours or below.

This doesn’t mean that sitting in itself is hazardous for your health, though the research also suggests that remaining in a sitting position for prolonged periods may increase fats in the blood, thereby lowering metabolism and lowering good cholesterol levels. Factors, such as pre-existing health conditions, lifestyle, and weight were also taken into consideration. The same health problems were observed in those who sat more frequently regardless of these conditions.

Obviously, some people may have a job that requires them to sit for long intervals. This includes most office and secretary positions. This doesn’t mean that you should do your job standing. Just get up and do a little bit of stretching and moving around periodically. If you are sitting down and watching television in your down time, then get up and walk around during a commercial break. This will keep the blood circulating and keep your body from remaining stagnant for too long a period.

It all comes down to common sense. The less your body is moving, the less exercise you are getting. As long as you monitor your daily physical activity and make sure you don’t become a frequent couch potato, then there is nothing to worry about.

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Dr. Oz: The Anti-Aging Genius

American TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey often has health care experts on her day time programs who are specialists in helping people maintain good health. One of these professionals is Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiologist by profession and a renowned expert in the field of health and anti-aging. Usually known only as Dr. Oz, he has authored more than 350 book chapters, original publications, abstracts and books on how to slow down the body’s physical destruction that is otherwise known as the aging process. Dr. Oz makes frequent appearances on Oprah’s show, as well as on other TV programs, including Larry King Live, and Fox News.

During his career as a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, as well as directing the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Oz has made natural anti-aging foods and exercise programs a life-long study, as well as a personal lifestyle. By combining a daily program of healthy diet, proper exercise, and adequate sleep (nature’s great restorer), Dr. Oz has proven that persons can reduce their physiological age to a point that it is as much as 12 to 13 years less than their actual chronological age.

Dr. Mehmet Oz

Dr. Oz’s program is really very simple. Some of the “age defying foods” he advocates people should eat include anti-oxidants such as asai fruit, a Brazilian fruit found in the Amazon rainforests that is very high in antioxidants; as well as less exotic ones such as blueberries, green and white teas, broccoli, and red wine. He also advocates taking a number of spices including ginger (excellent for decreasing high blood pressure), paprika and cayenne pepper (reduces risks of Alzheimer’s and other brain dementia diseases) as well as others such as rosemary ( which rejuvenates the skin and is beneficial in relieving digestive disorders and headaches).

Dr. Oz also advocates eating foods high in dietary fiber such as whole grain breads and pastas (much better than simple “whole wheat” varieties), flax seeds (full of Omega 3 oils as well as fiber) and fiber rich vegetables such as cabbage and celery. Omega 3 oils, which protect the body against heart disease, are also high on his list of required foods. Fish, which are high in Omega 3 oils, actually obtain them from ingesting algae, he said; and he advocates eating foods containing this vitamin and mineral rich plant from the sea.

Exercise routines recommended by Dr. Oz include those which help expand lung capacities and improve the body’s circulation. These can include yoga and other sports which emphasize deep breathing. Even meditation is a good practice, since sounds such as “yom” help keep the sinuses clear through vibration.

And last, but certainly not least, adequate sleep of at least 7 hours per night is important to help the body’s natural restorative processes to function properly.

One of Dr Oz’s most authoritative health guides is a book published in 2005 entitled You – the Owner’s Manuel: an insider’s guide to the body that will make you healthier and younger. Written together with Dr. Michael Roizen, it was featured on the New York Time’s Bestseller list.