Productivity and Technology

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Let's look at how technology helps us be productive today. It's important to understand that computers, smart phones, and tablets have been commonplace for at least five years. How're you doing with all this tech to help you be productive? You should have been able to shave some time to prepare better meals and grab a workout.

You have apps that separate and categorize your email. You have calendar apps that can help you schedule your appointments and give you reminders. You have watch apps that will pay for your groceries and even track your steps, heart . . .

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Modern Productivity

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Do you feel like you want to eat better and exercise, but you don't have the time? That's why I'm focusing on productivity this week. I always tell you to eat less, eat better, and move more, but those last two may take more time than you're currently able to give them. Where can we get that extra time? That sent me into researching the fascinating field of workplace productivity.

The current state of modern productivity can be traced back to Frederick Taylor in the late 1890s through early 1900s. He was constantly frustrated by co . . .

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Train to Perform

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If you’re a Buffalo Bills fan, the one single player you most likely detest is Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. For me, I have to double-down on him because he’s also a Wolverine. But after reading the way he trains to perform, I have a new-found respect for this 39-year-old quarterback.

His attention to detail and his willingness to prepare for every game is legendary. But it doesn’t stop with sports-specific activity. Brady does it better in all ways. For the bulk of the year, he’s a vegan. During . . .

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Exercise to Perform

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Keeping with a Steeler theme, Pittsburgh won this past Sunday evening to advance in the NFL playoffs. They landed at about 4 a.m. A couple hours later, James Harrison, a 38-year-old linebacker and a star in the game, posted pictures of himself working out at the Steeler facility at 6 a.m. To say that’s dedication is an understatement.

There aren’t many 38-year-old linebackers in professional football—he’s the only one. He eats clean. He is dedicated to his workouts. He gets treatment from acupuncturists and chiropractors weekly. If it’s legal . . .

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Eat to Perform

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With the NFL playoffs going on, there have been some amazing performances. Do these men have talent? Sure, but talent won't take you far enough. I've accumulated some stories about how athletes prepare to perform and they seemed especially appropriate this week.

Let's begin with what is known in Steeler Lore as The Waffle House Incident. Antonio Brown, late of Dancing with the Stars fame and one of the best wide receivers in football, went out to eat with his wide receiver teammates. He's known for eating only organic food. As the story goes, he grilled . . .

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How Exercise Affects Menopause: Heart and Brain

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In the last post, I talked about the effects of menopause on the muscles and bones; in short, the changes in the muscles reduce physical abilities, and exercise can help that. But there’s another factor when it comes to physical performance: the heart and cardiovascular system. Once a women passes 30, her aerobic capacity declines every decade. That means oxygen doesn’t reach the muscles and brain as often. Her physical reserves wane.

Exercise can have a positive impact on the heart . . .

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How Exercise Affects Menopause: Muscle and Bone

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In Tuesday’s post, we looked at how menopause affects exercise. Today and Saturday we’ll look at the reverse because exercise can have powerful effects on the changes we associate with menopause.

As a woman ages, she loses bone mineral content due to decreasing hormone levels. Her muscles change as well; fast-twitch muscle fibers become more like slow-twitch fibers. Women can’t run as fast . . .

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How Menopause Affects Exercise: Thirst

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Dr. Peggy Whitson is an astronaut on her third extended mission on the International Space Station. If her current mission ends as planned, she will be the astronaut with more time in space than any other. She just completed her 7th spacewalk to install three new lithium-ion batteries. This is nothing like changing the batteries in the remote; each battery is about the size of half of a refrigerator and takes hours to install. And, oh, by the way, Dr. Watson is 56 years old.

By all accounts, she is fit, with an avid interest in weight training and . . .

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Nutrition Can’t Fix Everything: Your Genetics

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In this final post on why nutrition can’t fix everything, let’s take a look at genetics. All things being equal, genetics—specifically minor mutations in our genes—is probably the biggest reason why nutrition can’t fix everything. Here are a few examples to explain why it can’t.

For someone with celiac disease, a genetic test can confirm the diagnosis. Once confirmed, the person should no longer eat any foods with gluten to avoid digestive issues. No other nutrient, enzyme, or probiotic can repair the gene. Nutrition can’t fix it.

In last Saturday’s message, I . . .

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Nutrition Can’t Fix Everything: Your Microbiome

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In this post, I’ll cover another reason that nutrition can’t fix everything: our microbiome, the bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microorganisms that live on and in our bodies. From birth, our microbiome is the result of contact with our mothers and others, our environment, and the foods we eat and don’t eat. It’s also the result of the antibiotics we’ve taken when we’re sick as well as those that have been in the foods we’ve eaten.

Our microbiome works best when it’s in balance; the problem is that doesn’t happen in . . .

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