In this video I talk about turning 57 this year, and all the physical ailments which have piled up and have complicated my day-to-day life.
Category Health
Strength Training For The Blood Pressure Win
Copyright: nomadsoul1
A recent study involving close to 16,000 subjects which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine determined that strength training exercises like planks and squats were more effective than other forms of exercise in reducing blood pressure. This flies in the face of previous recommendations by cardiologists, which focused on cardiovascular aerobic exercise. To be fair to the study, the reductions in blood pressure from strength training exercises, were minor, averaging 8.24 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure readings, and 4 mm Hg for diastolic readings, but the reductions were indeed greater than aerobic exercise such as running, which reduced pressures by 4.49 mm Hg and 2.53 mm Hg on average. However, the study did point out that various forms of exercise were proven to be beneficial with respect to lowing blood pressure.
There’s No Such Thing As Blue Eyes
Please check out this interesting article which was posted on the American Academy of Ophthalmology website, explaining the science behind eye color. I have copied and pasted it here so that you can easily read it.
Reviewed By Ivan R Schwab, MD, FACS
Jun. 16, 2023
Brown and hazel eyes get their color from melanin, the same pigment that colors your skin. The more melanin in the eye, the darker your eye color will appear. But blue eyes don’t have any blue pigment in them. Blue eyes get their color the same way water and the sky get their blue color. They scatter light so that more blue light reflects back out.
How do eyes get their color?
Eye color depends on the iris, the colored part of the eye. It’s a structure that contains muscle and other kinds of cells. You can see the iris in action when it squeezes or relaxes to let in more or less light through the pupil. The iris is made up of two layers. For almost everyone — even people with blue eyes — the back layer (called the pigment epithelium) has brown pigment in it.The front layer of the iris (called the stroma) can make eyes appear brown, hazel, blue or green.
- For people with brown eyes, some of the cells also have brown pigment in them.
- People with blue eyes have no pigment at all in this front layer, causing the fibers to scatter and absorb some of the longer wavelengths of light that come in. More blue light gets back out and the eyes appear to be blue.
- For people with green or hazel eyes, one or both of the layers of the iris contains light brown pigment. The light brown pigment interacts with the blue light and the eye can look green or speckled.
- Many people have variations in the color of their irises, often with one color near the pupil and another at the edge. This variation happens when different parts of the iris have different amounts of pigment in them.
Is there a way to predict a baby’s eye color?
The genetics of eye color are very complicated. You can’t predict a child’s eye color just from looking at the parents’ eyes. Even parents who have the same color eyes as each other could have a child with different colored irises.
Babies often do not have much pigment in their irises when they are born. This is why their eyes can look very blue. More pigment accumulates in the iris over the first few months of a child’s life and blue eyes can become less blue or even turn completely brown. For most children, eye color stops changing after the first year, but for some kids the color can continue to change for several more years.
Genetic research has shown that blue eyes probably only appeared in the last 6,000 to 10,000 years. Before then, everyone had brown eyes. Blue eyes have probably spread through the population just because some people like how they look and chose to have children with blue-eyed people.
Why do some eyes change colors in different lighting?
People with hazel or green eyes might notice that their eye color changes depending on surrounding light. Green and hazel eyes are a mixture of pigment color and color from scattered light, so they can look different in different lighting conditions.
Since blue eyes get their color from the light that’s coming in and being reflected back out, they also can appear as different colors depending on the lighting conditions.
What is the rarest eye color?
The Academy surveyed more than 2,000 Americans to determine what color eyes they have. Below are the results of that 2014 Harris Poll survey, weighted to reflect the United States population at that time:
- 45% have brown eyes
- 27% have blue eyes
- 18% have hazel eyes
- 9% have green eyes
- 1% have eyes a color not listed above
Hot Logic Mini XP Video Review on YouTube
Check out the Hot Logic Mini XP, which has a built-in food storage compartment in addition to the fantastic food heating technology of the original Hot Logic Mini!
All you need is an electrical outlet (you can even use a car inverter and heat up meals while you drive). This is FANTASTIC for work, travel, trade shows, photo shoots, etc.
To order a Hot Logic Mini or Hot Logic Mini XP, go to the following link:
Be sure to enter my code STACEYNAITO for 20% off your order!
Update On My Workout Regimen
I figured it was time for me to provide an update on my current workout regimen, especially since people who don’t know me personally might assume that I have abandoned my regular exercise habits since retiring from competing in the bodybuilding world. While I don’t train for 4 to 5 hours a day like I used to when ramping up for a contest, I still consistently weight train 5 to 6 days per week, every week. There are some weeks in which I cannot resist adding a seventh day, which is usually a day in which I exclusively train abs.
I typically train legs 2 to 3 days a week, and I split my upper body workouts into three separate routines: back and chest, arms (and I will often throw abdominal training in on arm days), and shoulders. My workouts range from 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes, and are almost exclusively performed in my home gym, which is equipped with the following (a partial list):
Tower 200 Body Full Gym Fitness
Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbell Set with Rack
285 pounds of weight plates for the Multi Gym and numerous barbells
In the three years since I have had a full home gym, I haven’t missed the commercial gym setting at all, and I love the fact that I can just head downstairs and get a workout in without fighting for equipment. I always say that consistency is key, and I have never slacked off on regular weight training. Whenever I hear people talk about abandoning weight training for months or years, it just blows my mind. The best road to success is to stay the course, and I have certainly done that since 1989.
How to Reach or Maintain a Healthy Weight in Your Senior Years
Photo by Pixabay
Check out this wonderful and informative article by Camille Johnson of Bereaver.com.
When we get older, maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle. Our metabolism slows down, and it becomes more difficult to get enough exercise. Still, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight. Critical aspects of your overall wellness, including your blood pressure, cholesterol, and risk for diabetes can be affected, so staying a healthy weight can help you live longer. These tips courtesy of StaceyNaito.com will help you achieve your target for good health.
Get moving
One of the most important ways of losing or maintaining weight is exercise. Start slowly by walking around the block, learning tai chi, or trying a water aerobics class. If you’ve not been particularly active recently, talk to your doctor about finding a safe way to start an exercise routine. An occupational or physical therapist can help you determine your abilities, especially if you’ve suffered an illness or injury in the past. These resources are great starting points for seniors who want to adopt an exercise routine.
- Look for ways to incorporate movement into your daily tasks.
- Set a timer to remind you to stand up and move around a bit every hour.
- Use the buddy system. Find a friend to walk or exercise with, for fun and accountability.
- Mayo Clinic suggests parking farther away from the store, and enjoy the walk. Take the stairs when you can.
- Seniors who are considering an assisted living situation should look for facilities that offer amenities like walking trails, gyms, and group fitness sessions.
Watch what you eat
Be mindful of what you eat each day, in terms of ingredients and calorie count. Stick to whole foods as much as possible, and read food labels for processed products you buy. Avoid fatty meats, instead opting for fish, lean chicken, pork, or beef cuts. Protein is especially important for your diet, because it helps build up the calcium in your bones, so be sure you’re getting enough. Having some protein with every meal and snack will keep you fuller for longer, which prevents you from overindulging on empty calories.
- Greek yogurt is a great choice for a snack or part of a meal. One serving has 17-18 grams of protein.
- Try ancient grains, such as teff, kamut, or quinoa. These grains are healthy as they tend to be higher in protein, vitamins, and other nutrients, and are often lower in gluten..
- Add some green peas to your salad, soup, or main dish. They pack 8 grams of protein per cup, and bring other nutrients, as well as fiber to your diet.
- Hummus is a tasty high protein dip for veggies. People trying to lose weight can enjoy it in moderation, and for those who need to gain weight, eating it more frequently is a great choice.
Get Hydrated
It’s important to stay hydrated no matter your age or fitness level, but as a senior citizen, you probably aren’t getting as much water as you need, especially if you’re active. Keeping a bottle of water with you can help you remember to sip throughout the day, and you can also add more water-dense foods to your diet to keep your bones, muscles, joints, and skin healthy.
- Have a glass of water at certain times each day. In addition to helping you stay hydrated, it can also help prevent you from eating too much.
- Remember that hot weather and high altitudes both increase your risk of dehydration, so increase your water intake when these conditions are affecting you.
- Cleveland Clinic notes health issues that involve fever, vomiting, or diarrhea increase your need for water.
- Ensure you’re drinking at least two liters of water every day.
Remember that your body is the only one you have, and you have to take care of it at every age. The more love you show your body by feeding and hydrating it well, and exercising, the more chances you’ll have for a longer, more comfortable life.
Dr. Stacey Naito of StaceyNaito.com offers customized meal plans, exercise regimens, and natural hormone balance to people who don’t want to compete but just want to lose weight, gain weight, or get toned. Contact Dr. Naito today to learn more!
My Mom’s Skin Cleansing Routine
Copyright: marctran
When I was a child, I was always intrigued by my mother’s unusual skin cleansing routine, because it sure didn’t look like anything I saw on television commercials. She was very consistent about her routine, and it paid off because she always had fantastic skin. I never found out how she came up with her regimen, and to this day I wonder who told her about the bizarre mask she would apply each week.
My mother would begin her weekly mask regimen by removing her makeup with Pond’s Cold Cream. Then she would walk to the kitchen, grab a small Pyrex bowl, and combine about 1/4 cup of whole milk with 1/4 of corn starch, then apply the bizarre mask to her face and allow it to do its magic for10 minutes. It was always somewhat disturbing to look over at my mom every single night and see her face covered in the blotchy white mask, which would impart a spooky look to her face. By the time the mask dried, it always looked like a cracked and dessicated desert floor. My mom would then remove the mask with warm water and a round natural sponge, apply Clinique Clarifying Lotion Face Toner 2, and then apply moisturizer.
Many years later, when I began working in medical aesthetics, I learned about how cornstarch could control oil production in the skin. Since my mom had oily skin, she fought a constant battle against her skin’s own tendency to overproduce oil. When searching the internet, I was able to find cornstarch and milk mask recipes, but they all had additional ingredients like mashed strawberries or honey. The thought of putting dairy on my skin isn’t appealing at all to me for one reason, which is that I don’t like the smell of milk, so I won’t be making this mask for my own use. If I ever decide to explore the skin benefits of cornstarch, I will use water instead.
Healthy Profits: Tips for Starting a Health-Based Business
By Camille Johnson of bereaver.com
Image by Pexels
With huge growth across health and fitness markets, now is the ideal time to take advantage and enter the field with a venture of your own. Social media and e-commerce have made it cheap and easy to get your best ideas out there, so it’s wise to take stock of your skillset and find the niche in the health sector that suits you best.
Business Ideas
- Personal Training: With an uptick in the use of virtual meeting platforms, you don’t need to have a gym membership to successfully run a personal training business. Start by creating a website that allows clients to view your availability and schedule appointments with you. You can also offer nutrition plans and personalized workouts that will show them the value you bring to their efforts toward a healthy lifestyle.
- Health Products Store: Suppliers like Amazon have made it easy to start an online store without manufacturing any products yourself. With some research into which products are most in-demand, you can create a website that makes the purchasing process simple for health enthusiasts.
- Content Creation: Gaining an online following can open the door to sponsorships and paid partnerships. You can become a health influencer by posting satisfying content about meal preps, posting your workouts, and offering advice to your subscribers. It may also be helpful to live stream some of your content so you can engage with your audience in real time and gain a more comprehensive understanding of what they are looking for.
Starting Your Business
Structure is a crucial part of any business, so it’s imperative to begin your efforts with a well-thought-out business plan. Be sure to include pertinent details such as your intention for day-to-day operations and the relevant staffing requirements.
You’ll also need to ensure that you register your business with an appropriate structure according to your plans for growth, tax preferences, and hopes for attracting investors. A limited liability company, or LLC, is a great option for most first-time entrepreneurs, as it protects your personal assets from being liable in your business’s finances and offers tax advantages. You can learn how to start an LLC by reading up online, but it’s helpful to work with a service that ensures your paperwork is filed correctly so you’re legally compliant with the state.
Avoid taking on unnecessary costs while you’re getting started, as this will only make it more difficult to turn a profit and may leave you with unnecessary debt. Be sure to keep thorough records of business activity and a budget for expenditure. It may be helpful to contract the services of a professional lawyer or accountant who will help ensure that your business remains fully compliant with legislation.
Growing Your Business
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of growing a business, so it’s vital to monitor your marketing efforts and keep track of which strategies are bringing in the most revenue. Thankfully, there are a number of free online tools you can take advantage of to get started.
Starting a blog is also a great way to make sales as you gain the interest of readers. You could review specific products that are currently high in demand and compare them to similar offerings on the market. This will make it easier for customers to trust the quality of the brand and feel more confident in finalizing a purchase.
You likely want to highlight achievements in your background on your blog, and offering a curriculum vitae is a great way to do that. You can use a template for a CV to customize your own online. You can put together an eye-catching and informative document for your potential customers.
Don’t be afraid to partner with other businesses and run social media campaigns and competitions that will increase your following and make potential customers aware of your offerings.
As you expand your business, it’s important to develop situational ePHI awareness to guard against potential data compromises. This is a necessity if your business interacts with protected medical data. Traditional cybersecurity may not be enough, so seek out solutions designed for healthcare.
There is an abundance of opportunities to start a successful health-based business without putting up too much money upfront. You simply need to find a solution that best fits your skills and interests, highlight your qualifications, and be ready to take operations online.
For nutrition and fitness products, figure contest prep, and personal training, visit StaceyNaito.com today!
Hot Logic Mini XP YouTube Review
The Acu-Hump Massage Tool
I was recently given the opportunity to try a self-massage tool called the Acu-Hump, which is designed for home use by individuals who are suffering from back, hip and buttock issues. Generally speaking, I am definitely a fan of at-home self-massage devices, and am happy to promote any such products which not only are effective, but also easy to use. The Acu-Hump fits the bill on both counts. Now that I have used the device, I am now able to write a review here so that you can learn more about it and decide whether you might want to purchase one for your own use.
Let’s start with the general design of the Acu-Hump. The Acu-Hump is made of a slightly flexible polyurethane, and is rigid enough to support one’s body weight if someone sits on the device or lies on top of it during therapy. Granted, I’m only 126 pounds, but it certainly doesn’t feel like the Acu-Hump is in any danger of caving in on itself when I use it. There are 14 humps on the treatment surface which work like shiatsu or pressure point nubs, and they are extremely effective at causing a release of tight, tense muscles, just like a deep tissue massage from a professional masseuse. In addition, the gentle curved design of the Acu-Hump gently stretches the muscles which are being treated, whether you place the unit under your upper back, your hip, or your buttocks. Simply stated, if you like deep tissue massage like I do, you will LOVE the Acu-Hump.
I am very impressed by how effectively the Acu-Hump causes a myofascial release in any area it is used on, whether it is in the upper back (latissimus dorsi, trapezius), hips (piriformis, sacroiliac joints), or the buttocks (glutes, muscles which surround sciatic nerve). You can use the Acu-Hump daily if you want, since it will cause a wonderful reset of overused or tight postural back muscles and muscles in the buttocks. It’s great for everyone from those who sit at desk jobs all day, to people who stand or move around a lot, and it’s fantastic for athletes who pretty much live with muscle aches and pains.
The Acu-Hump is well designed, and the pressure points sit in excellent positions for just about anyone who uses it. It is also surprisingly lightweight for how durable it is, so it can be taken to the office, to sporting events, you name it. My favorite use for the device is to sit on it, because I always have pain in the muscles of my buttocks, but I also love using this on my upper back right below my shoulder blades, and I also love using it at my sacroiliac joints in my lower back to soften the tendons and to get some relief from stiffness and pain which I experience on occasion. It’s so versatile that you can use it on numerous areas to get a great stretch while also benefitting from the self-massage properties of the device.
The Acu-Hump is available on Amazon. For more information on the Acu-Hump, and to visit their website, please go to https://www.acuhump.com
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I was given free product and compensation for my time to put together this informative blog post, but the opinions expressed here are truly my own.
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