So I read a study in Consumer Reports today about the content of heavy metals in protein drinks. The metals of concern are deadly when humans are exposed to them, even is small concentrations, over many years: arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium.
I wouldn’t exactly call the results of the study tragic, but I definitely think Project Swole readers should be aware and should avoid certain products.
Read the report here: What’s in YOUR protein drink?
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The Bella Tucker Fund
Please Help |
You think you have it bad? Maybe you do, but I’m sure 99.9% of your stories are not as unfortunate as what has happened to an 8 year old girl from Londonderry, NH named Bella Tucker.
Bella is an 8 year old third grader who was a budding gymnastics star, loved to ride her bike and listen to music, liked going to school and hanging out with her friends, and is now going to be confined to a wheelchair without her own arms and legs for the rest of her life.
A cute little girl with long blond hair, Bella attended South School Elementary in Londonderry, New Hampshire and was a talented member of the Phantom Gymnastics team. Maybe she will do those things again one day, but for now she is confined to a hospital bed at the Children’s Hospital in Boston. She and her family need all the help they can get.
 Bella Tucker |
Easter Sunday 2010 was going to be a fun-filled day with egg hunts, jelly beans, and Easter dinner with family. As the day progressed Bella began to feel under the weather; she eventually developed a fever and had the chills.
She went to bed early with what appeared to be flu symptoms, but woke up early in the morning with a fever of 103, complaining that her hands and feet were cold. Bella’s step-dad rushed her to the local emergency room, where doctors said she needed to be transferred by helicopter to Boston Children’s Hospital.
No one could have guessed what would happen next; Bella and her family would never be the same.
With a temperature that peaked at a whopping 105.8 degrees, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital initially figured she might have meningitis. They were wrong. Two days later Bella was diagnosed with streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis, a rare form of pneumonia that had stopped the flow of oxygen to her arms and legs.
With a 10% survival rate for streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis, the future did not look good.
Doctors placed Bella into a drug-induced coma, no one could be sure if she would ever regain consciousness. After 5 days she emerged from her coma, but her body had already sustained severe tissue damage.
 Broken Arm |
When you hurt one of your arms, you shouldn’t necessarily stop exercising the healthy arm.
A study at the University of Oklahoma suggests that when you train a single arm (or leg), the muscle nerve fibers in the opposite appendage are stimulated. This means you will still get the benefits of Central Nervous System (CNS) adaptations in an injured limb as long as you train the opposite healthy limb, over a short period of time.
Is there an exercise that you hate? For some people it’s squats, for some it’s deadlifts, and for others it could be something that most of us consider fun, like dips or the ab wheel.
 Find Your Weak Spot |
If you any any particular exercise because it is hard, awkward, or uncomfortable, then you have probably found your weak spot.
Depending on the exercise, the main muscle used and/or the ancillary muscles used, are probably weak points for you. There is likely a muscle imbalance, or at least a weak muscle that should be prioritized for a couple months.
The best exercise you can do to bring up your weak point, is the exercise that you hate.
You might not believe this tip, but I’ve read about this time and again. You should put your tongue on the roof of your mouth whenever you exercise, especially when doing something that might typically strain your neck.
Your Questions |
I get plenty of questions in various comments throughout the website, but I also get comments and questions via the Project Swole Contact Form.
Generally I address those questions through e-mail, but often I do not have the time to reply to each and every question personally.
From now on I want to take a more proactive approach to answering Your Health Questions by posting them separately in the blog. This way we can be sure that everyone benefits from the Q & A.
“I am 61 and in generally good shape, bicycled for years (at least 1000 miles per year).
The past two years I’ve converted to weight training (three days a week) plus spinning (three days a week). I’ve always been thin 6’2 – 195lbs.
Joined a gym 2 months ago (with a personal trainer)and really haven’t seen the results I’ve been looking for. I’ve reduced my body fat but haven’t seen any gains in muscle mass. I feel better but would also like to look better.
Also I just had another issue arise – a minor case of gout. I have been using a Whey protein drink 40 grams a day and need to know if Whey based supplements contain large amounts Purine (the largest contributer to gout).
I’m looking for info for us ‘old guys’ that haven’t given up.”
The following guest post was contributed by Barbara Dunn, a PR executive who is writing today about healthcare-associated infection (HAI), an important topic for everyone.
When someone develops an infection, at a hospital or other patient care facility, that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).
 Breast Cancer Awareness |
Breast cancer is an awful disease that affects millions of women each year.
If you have a wife, sister, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, or niece, you could be affected by breast cancer too.
Breast cancer is the seventh leading cause of death for women in the US.
It is the second most common form of cancer in women, and is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women.
It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.
No, I’m not talking about the ephedra laced Hydroxycut that actually works, I’m talking about the ephedra-free Hydroxycut products that are supposed to be safe. Yeah, not so safe.
 Hydroxycut |
Hydroxycut products are marketed as inexpensive, energy-enhancing fat-burners. They do work to some extent. Hydroxycut will definitely increase your energy, but at what cost to your body?
 Atlantic Cod |
Read on to discover why supplementing with fish oil is important for you, but even more so if you are diabetic.
Simply stated, Omega-3 consumption is directly linked to the reduction of triglycerides and therefore a decrease in risk for developing coronary heart disease.
Being that diabetics have an increased risk of heart disease from elevated levels of triglycerides, this is most important for those individuals, but is still important for the rest of us. Fortunately I am not diabetic yet, although I am annoyingly insulin resistant. Hopefully I will never develop type II diabetes.
::knocks on wood::
Scivation XtendAmino Acids |
Optimum NutritionProtein Powder |
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