New Study Says Cutting Salt May Not Be So Good For You

How many times have you been told to watch how much salt you consume or to cut back on how much salt you use? That’s because it’s been widely believed that lower salt intake, equates lower blood pressure and heart attack and stroke risk. Well a new study has raised serious questions about the merits of doing that. Researchers found that while cutting salt intake may reduce blood pressure, it may cause some other negative effects.

The study which was done by Danish Scientist Niels Graudal, takes into account the results from 167 previous studies, and suggests that a low sodium diet has an unremarkable effect on actual blood pressure in persons with normal blood pressure. The effect on persons with high blood pressure was more significant (3.5%). The study focussed primarily on European and American subjects, but Asians and Blacks with reduced sodium diets showed more marked reductions in blood pressure.

Unfortunately the study found that the reduction in blood pressure came with an increase in Cholesterol levels which is linked to heart disease. While the good scientists caution that this is not an excuse to consume more salt, it does confirm that a moderate amount of salt in a normal diet won’t kill you. Reducing salt consumption they say, “has both positive and negative effects that might not reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.”

Women At Higher Risk For Heart Attack

It’s a commonly known fact that heart disease is the number one killer in the world, but a lesser known fact is that women are at greater risk than men. One reason for this scientists say is that women are harder to diagnose.

Men suffer heart attacks primarily because of blocked arteries, and these can be detected easily enough by an angiogram. Unfortunately angiograms don’t work as well with women and its failure to detect irregularities puts women at greater risk through a false sense of security. As a result, upward of 18 million women of all ages, die annually from heart problems. It’s not just a concern for older women. The good news is that 95% of heart disease is preventable. It’s as simple as reducing the risks

Reducing the risk can be as simple as getting educated about good heart health and having your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other risk factors for heart disease checked regularly. It also means not smoking, controlling or avoiding diabetes, reducing body fat by regular exercise, reducing stress and maintaining a healthy diet. Diet is very important. Make sure to get more fish, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits and cut down on salt intake and transfats.

Vegetables Reduce Heart Attack Risk

A new study says that people at high risk for heart disease can reduce that risk by simply eating more fruits and vegetables. Apparently there is a unique gene which predisposes certain people to heart disease by up to thirty percent. So what scientists did was to round up 27,000 of those persons in order to find out if dietary alterations could modify that gene, which they named 9p21. They found that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduced their risk of heart attack to 1.0, which is the level of someone with no risk factors or the 9p21 gene.

The results of the study, suggest that as few as two servings a day of raw fruits, and vegetables can negate the effects of the gene significantly enough, but they recommend even more servings to prevent heart disease. The findings support previous ones which have pointed to fruits and vegetables as the best weapons to combat chronic diseases like stroke and cancer. This they say is even more critical if there is a history of heart disease in your family.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Linked to Brain Shrinkage

A new study has drawn a link between a decline in brain function and a deficiency in Vitamin B12, especially in older adults. The study done on subjects aged 65 and older found that if there isn’t enough Vitamin B12 in the body, the brain begins to shrink. It also found that the deficiency was also affected by certain habits, including too much alcohol consumption. In addition anemia and digestive disorders can also block the body’s ability to absorb the nutrient.

So while you can get Vitamin B12 from fish, meat, dairy products, protein rich foods, as well as various cereals and supplements if you drink excessively or have a digestive disorder, your body may not be absorbing the Vitamin like it should and your brain may be paying for it ultimately.

Scientists have found that the Vitamin plays an important role in cognition, since it feeds the neurons in the brain. They discovered that Vitamin deficient subjects had smaller brain volume and had lower cognitive scores. 

Doctors are suggesting that people begin taking more B12 supplements in order to prevent loss of brain function and to avoid developing cognitive impairment.

The Link Between Vitamin E and Prostate Cancer

If you’re fifty years or over, you may want to avoid taking Vitamin E. The results of a recent study suggest that there is a link between Vitamin E and an increased risk of prostate cancer. The multi-million dollar study was conducted between 2001and 2008, and was undertaken to determine the role of the supplement as well as Selenium, in preventing or causing disease.

Tests done on skin and lung cancers, suggested that Selenium and Vitamin E might reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Scientists tested 35,000 men over 50, from across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. The study did not achieve the 25% cancer risk reduction scientists were hoping for. In fact it found that the participants who took the Vitamin E supplement showed a higher tendency toward developing prostate cancer. The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and suggest that there was no benefit to the men who took the supplement.

An eighteen month long follow up of participants showed that the supplement continued having an effect on the men well after they’d stopped taking it.

Edge Personal Fitness Video Submission Contest!

Edge wants to give you a chance to win an Ultimate Body Makeover!  But first you have to prove that you deserve it! It’s gong to be hard work from the beginning to the end.

We want your videos - serious videos. The videos should be from under five minutes long and can be shot with a web cam, personal camera, or other camera. To qualify for the prize there must be an absolute minimum of ten (10) video submissions. Cant have a competition without contestants folks!

We will keep track of the submissions and keep appropriate videos posted on our Facebook fan page. Inappropriate or otherwise unsuitable videos and photographs will be deleted. All submissions will be subject to public voting. If you don’t win you can’t blame us! Once all the requirements have been met and a winner is selected, we will make the announcement of the one lucky winner who will get the 90 day makeover on the Edge Facebook fan page.

We want to hear your stories! So keep it real
We want to hear about your personal fitness goals and challenges or personal hardships and difficulties encountered in meeting your fitness goals. We want to hear why you think you’re deserving of our votes and why you should win the Ultimate Body Makeover so be convincing.

These videos will be used as promotional material for Edge Personal Fitness and  they may also be featured on our websites or Youtube Channel. By agreeing to participate in this contest you agree to our use of the video content.

Simple Rules:
1. Keep it clean! We want to be as professional as possible. So be mindful of what you are saying, as well as what you’re wearing. No porn here people…soft or otherwise. We want to see what you’re working with but keep some of it to the imagination yeah?
2. Keep it calm! We are all rational adults and do not need to be overly emotional.
3. Keep it sane! Your video should be concise. Try not to go off on tangents!
4. Keep on time! The minimum time is 30 seconds and the maximum is 5 minutes.
5. Mark your calendars! Submissions begin October 1st, 2011 at 8:00am and end on October 31st, 2011 at midnight.

How to submit:
If you’re one of the unfortunate persons without a video camera or webcam, we don’t want to leave you out, so we want you to submit a before photograph and a short explanation of your goals, challenges etc, and why you should win the makeover. Key word here is SHORT. This isn’t your doctoral thesis, so get to the point.

The winner will be notified via Facebook message and an announcement will then be made as a Facebook status, a tweet, and on the Edge Personal Fitness website.

You can DOUBLE your chances of winning makeover, by encouraging your friends and family to like our Facebook page and to vote for your submission.

Only one submission per person will be considered for the prize. You are entitled to ONLY ONE submission so take your time and get it right the first time.

The winner will have to claim their prize within one month. Failure to claim prize within one month of notification will automatically forfeit prize and another drawing will be held and another winner selected in house. (so don’t be lazy!)
Good Luck!

Remember! THE CONTEST START IS OCTOBER 1ST  2011 @ 8:00am sharp. Submissions before this time will not be considered. (Slow down there cowboy, don’t jump the gun. Gotta have an official start!)

DEAD LINE IS OCTOBER 31ST, 2011 @ 12:00am sharp. Submissions or votes after this time will not be considered. (All good things have to come to an end sometime!)

NOTE; All Rules may be subject to change.

A Personal Trainer is Your Best Investment in a Down Economy!

Times are tough right now for everyone, myself included. We all have to make smart choices with our money today and be sure to get the essentials taken care of before we consider anything else. We don’t eat out as much as we used to, we rent movies instead of going to the theater, and we cut down our trips to Rituals (maybe). It seems to me that a lot of people consider working with a personal trainer a “Luxury” and not something that is money wisely spent in this economy. I would like to argue that it quite the opposite. An investment in your health, is always money well spent. Consider this, you’ve been eager to get back in shape and you know the only way to do it right and stick with it, is with the guidance of a Personal Trainer. Your poor eating habits, stamina, and general fitness are starting to affect your work and you feel like if it gets worse, you might miss time from work or lose your job entirely. How much would it cost you and your family if you lost a weeks pay or more because of health reasons that could be taken care of with a sound exercise and nutrition plan from a Certified Personal Trainer? How much money could you save on Doctor’s visit copays, prescriptions, etc. if you were in great shape? How much better would your overall quality of life be if you were in great shape? Working with a Certified Personal Trainer doesn’t have to drain your bank account. There’s more options than just one on one training. You can cut the cost of training by doing Semi Private personal training with a small group of 4-6 people with similar goals. How about an online training program designed by a Certified Personal Trainer?

I’m sure if you think about it, you can find some things that you are spending money on that would not benefit you as much as your health. Do you stop at the donut shop every morning for breakfast and coffee? How about those weekly manicures? Maybe you’re paying a monthly fee at a large chain gym that you went to maybe twice a week when you first signed up, but haven’t been for months now and you just keep paying them. Cutting out one or more things like this, will cover the cost of a Personal Training program. The bottom line is that your health is not a “Luxury” expense, it is the most important investment you can make in you and your family’s life. There are many different affordable options available from personal trainers today, so do some research to find what programs would work for you.