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Good news. We’re cool again.
Posted on April 30th, 2008 No comments
Back in 2004, New York Magazine declared that “step is in again.” In the past four years, either the writers had a lapse of memory or step once again fell out of fashion because, once again, it appears that step is in.I’m sure this comes as a relief to many of you. Far be it from us to follow an outdated fitness trend.
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Sports bottles potentially unsafe
Posted on April 18th, 2008 No comments
Do you use a refillable plastic water bottle during class? You may want to consider throwing it away.Polycarbonate plastic is durable, hard, and clear, so it is often used in sports water bottles as well as baby bottles. The problem is that this type of plastic contains a chemical called bisphenol-a (or BPA for short) which has been linked to unhealthy hormone changes in animals. The effect on humans is still unknown, but there’s no reason to believe we’re safe.
The Canadian government has recently declared BPA a toxic chemical. In response to this, Nalgene has stopped making these potentially unsafe bottles and has replaced them with bottles made from a new BPA-free plastic. (They maintain that BPA is safe and state the change is only due to customer demand.)
Your best bet? Play it safe and swap your old plastic bottle out for a newer one. Better yet, get one made of stainless steel.
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More fitness crapola
Posted on April 13th, 2008 No comments
Apparently swiveling back an forth on a $175 barstool will help you lose body fat, improve your immune system, and help you combat everything from depression to premature death. Such are the claims by the good folks over at RedExerciser.net. Based on this video clip, however, the side effects of the Red Exerciser appear to be loss of dignity as well as loss of ability to count backwards from twenty. -
Enough with the water, already!
Posted on April 5th, 2008 No comments
“But water helps flush out those toxins and improves skin tone,” you say to me. “It can curb your appetite as well as cure a headache!”
Well your guilt trip won’t work on me any longer. Although not drinking when you’re thirsty is certainly not good for you, there is apparently no evidence supporting the claims that drinking excess water will improve your health. This surprising bit of news comes in an editorial in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. (Nephrology is the study of the kidney, so these people might know a thing or two about water.)
This doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s no benefit to drinking lots of water. Perhaps there is something to be gained, but more studies need to be done in this area before any conclusions can be drawn.
