Making It Personal -Current Health Trends.

I recently thought this blog is not personal enough and therefore I need to make it more personal.
I need to discuss my thoughts, my joys, my experiments and what I think the newest trends are in health.

Current Trends:

-Barefoot Running! This started a few years ago with the vibram five finger shoes, that look ugly and weird to most, however they are great for people's feet when run in properly. This trend really started to take off with Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run which talks about ultrarunning and the shoe industry. I personally love this book and therefore recommend it to everyone. I do caution one's who try barefoot running to do more research on technique and also to take it slow, the back of one's calves will kill after a barefoot run.

-Diet drinks: such as zero calorie drink. Almost all of these are sweetened with artificial sweeteners and are therefore bad for you. Most sports drinks are unless you're in an intense endurance sporting event. Avoid all diet drinks and their artificial sweeteners. Drink water or tea instead.

-Too much sodium: Prepare your own food as much as you can to avoid this. We consume way too much sodium.

-Fitness Apps. I don't know much about these but if they encourage you to exercise they can't be bad, right?

-Zumba: I have never done it but I hear its fun and a great workout. For those who don't know, zumba is a type of dance work out.

-Weight Watchers: Learn to eat healthy for life. Jenifer Hudson is looking good!

-Sleep: People still do not get enough sleep which causes a list of problems. Do I really need to say them? Imagine how you feel when you get a lack of sleep. Get 8 hours, lets stop glamorizing lack of sleep.

Finally, I wish walking was a current health trend. Walk to work, walk to the store, walk for fun, etc. People drive way too much, even just 2 minutes down the road. We were born with two legs, lets use them.
Also, Lack of adventure. Many people are too afraid to get sweaty, dirty, climb trees, swim lakes, and just act like a child on many of the adventures children will take. That is free fitness while one generally has to pay for the gym. I wish people would stop thinking of the gym as the key way to lose weight.

These are a few thoughts and I'm sure there are many others.
Best,
Trevor

Pic from http://activeredkickboxingandfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/hey-there-today-we-are-bringing-you.html

Buying a Toothbrush: Did you know some destroy your gums?

There has been many a time when I'm in the drugstore and have no idea what toothbrush to buy so I look for one's that guarantee to remove more plaque and make my purchase. I have no idea that the toothbrush I am going to buy can potentially destroy my gums. My post is going to talk about toothbrush design and what is actually best for your dental health.

You've all been in the dental isle and debated what toothbrush to buy. This one's more expensive than this one, this one has little rubber things to help clean my gums, this one looks too plain...etc. However, one usually has no clue what actual toothbrush to buy and picks the one that guarantees to remove all plaque, prevent gingivitis, etc. Buying a toothbrush is more complex than that and requires proper selection for your best dental health.

I learned about buying a toothbrush today while at the dentist. I was told I have some slight gum decay which is caused by using the wrong toothbrush, brushing too hard, and potentially having braces. I thought ok, fair enough. Most of us think the harder and faster we brush the more effectively cleaned our teeth will be, right? Well, that one's false, you're supposed to brush slow because brushing too fast will damage the gums.

Now, on to toothbrushes. When you buy a toothbrush you want to make sure you have soft or extra soft bristles. Those are going to be most effective at cleaning your teeth, anything harder is going to damage your gums. You also have to look at the design of the bristles, you want ones that have higher bristles in the middle and lower bristles on the outside. The design of the bristles is crucial because all these fancy new designs are actually not good for your gums, as well as the fact that most toothbrushes sold are not soft bristled. This is all because the toothbrush companies want to make money. Most of the time you're best going with the cheaper less fancy toothbrush.
You can also buy an electric toothbrush, which is suppose to be fine for your gums.

This is my advice on buying toothbrushes. Talk to you dentist next time you get your teeth cleaned, see what they have to say on the topic.
Here's an article I also read on it http://www.wisegeek.com/what-should-i-consider-when-buying-a-toothbrush.htm
And I couldn't find a good pic for you today.
As always,
Stay Strong,
-trev