Posts by: Zero to Hero Fitness

Could This Diet Be a Cure for ALS?

At first, it's just a numb arm. But over time, the loss of control over all of your muscles indicate it's something much worse--a condition called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. For most people with the condition, there's little they can do to fight the gradual loss of control over their own bodies. As of 2014, scientists haven't found a cure for the disease, and oftentimes there isn't even anything they can do to stop its progression. Until now. Reporting…
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Watch Out: Eating This Gives You a Beer Gut!

Worried about having a bigger gut? Here's one way to avoid it: Eat polyunsaturated fat. New research from Uppsala University in Sweden reveals that humans who consume a diet high in saturated fat are more likely to have more fat and less muscle when compared to those who opt for a healthier, polyunsaturated fat diet. While previous research has shown that eating more saturated fat is bad for weight loss, this is the first study to show that certain fats…
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This Naughty Activity Burns 100 Calories Instantly

Hate working out? Turns out a favorite intimate activity may be just as effective as a 30 minute bout of moderate exercise. Reporting in the health journal PLoS One, researchers say that just 20 minutes of sexual intercourse is comparable to a similar session on the treadmill--and as an added bonus burns a considerable amount of calories as well. "Sex can be considered, at times, a significant exercise, worth encouraging in people who otherwise baulk at working out," says Antony…
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This Diet Helps You Lose 18 Pounds AND Have a Healthier Heart!

Lose weight and have a better heart? Who wouldn't want to reap these benefits--and now a study from the University of Toronto says doing so is now a reality. The study, which compared the effects of a low carb vegan diet versus a high carb lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, found that those who stuck with the low carb option lost more weight and had significantly lower LDL, or bad, cholesterol levels. The findings are published in the February issue of BMJ,…
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Do This 1 Hour a Day to Prevent Blindness

Hate aerobic exercise? Well here's a new reason to make it a habit--doing so could prevent blindness, according to a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. The study, which looked at how treadmill running affected the ability of rodents to see properly, found that regular bouts of aerobic exercise prevented retina damage--a leading precursor of blindness. Machelle Pardue, Ph.D., who headed the research, says that this finding shows just how important exercise is. "This is the first report…
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This Diet Lowers Your Appetite by 50%

Desperate to lose weight? One doctor says you can do so by doing the unthinkable: Eating chocolate everyday. Detailing his findings in the book Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight, Dr. Will Clower, who now has both scientists and consumers abuzz with disbelief, says that eating chocolate could help you lose weight--even if you aren't keeping a check on the rest of your diet. But according to Clower, it matters when you eat it. "With the little piece of wonderful, rich dark…
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This 1 Activity Actually Stops Hunger!

Name one thing that makes it hard to diet and most people agree--it's the hunger pangs that drive us crazy. And while heaps of vegetables, fruit, and appetite suppressants may stop the food cravings temporarily, they're hardly a permanent fix--and can leave you heading for the fridge after dark. But now a new study says there's a better way to fight it: By playing Tetris. This odd finding comes from Plymouth University's Cognition Institute, which found that playing Tetris forces…
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This 1 Trick Makes You Live Longer Naturally

Want to live longer? Sure, anyone does--but cancer survivors especially want to lengthen the healthy years they have left. And now a new study published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health says there's one easy way to live longer after cancer: Exercise regularly. The study, which was led by researcher Kathleen Y. Wolin, found that cancer survivors who stayed physically active with aerobic sports were nearly 50 percent more likely to live longer than those who did little…
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This Doctor Says This Diet Reverses Diabetes

Just 50 years ago, less than 3 million Americans suffered from type 2 diabetes, a condition that, in its time, was a rarity mainly treated in hospitals. Fast forward to 2014 and now we're dealing with a staggering epidemic--a chronic disease affecting nearly 30 million Americans. And it's expected to get worse. "The incidence of type II diabetes has been rising among all Americans, but especially seniors," says Craig Desoer, M.D., who practices family medicine at the Pittsburg Health Center…
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This Fad Diet Could Cause Kidney Disease

For followers of the Dukan Diet, noshing on high-protein meals all day doesn't seem like a bad trade-off--especially considering how fast it helps you lose weight. But now doing so has come under fire by scientists from Spain, who say that high-protein diets such as the Dukan Diet could increase the risk of kidney problems. Reporting from the University of Granada, scientists say rats fed a high-protein diet quickly developed serious kidney problems, such as calcium kidney stones, kidney disease,…
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