PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

BEAUTIFUL  SKIN  STARTS WITH YOUR MEALS We spend a fortune on creams and serums, all promising to make our skin look brighter, plumper, and younger. But science from the University of Otago is making one thing clear: if you want real results, start at the grocery store, not the beauty counter. A new study has found that eating vitamin C-rich foods, like kiwifruit, doesn’t just nudge your skin in a better direction—it can visibly thicken your skin and speed up cell renewal from the inside out. Volunteers who ate two vitamin C-packed SunGold kiwi each day ended up with skin that was healthier and more resilient, all thanks to the vitamin’s power to boost collagen right where your body actually builds it. The message? Glowing skin really does begin from within. Professor Margreet Vissers and her team discovered a tight connection between the amount of vitamin C in your bloodstream. How much actually ends up in your skin—the correlation was stronger for skin than for any other org...

  AGING: GROWING BETTER WITH TIME You don’t wake up one day with a totally new body. The changes creep in—a tighter waistband here, legs feeling heavier there, everyday walks a little less effortless. Most of us don’t notice aging happening until we really feel it. But what’s brewing under the surface is far bigger than a few extra pounds or gray hairs. Aging is your body’s grand recalibration. With every year, almost every system subtly shifts. Muscles start to shrink, fat sneaks in, and bones quietly lose some of their strength—by your fifties, this is happening for everyone. The same meals you ate in your thirties can gradually add inches, just because your metabolism isn’t burning as hot as it once did. And that’s just the start. Your heart and blood vessels stiffen over time, making high blood pressure or heart trouble more likely. Skin grows thinner, touch dulls, and even saliva dries up, quietly changing how you balance, eat, and move. (Scientists see these same patterns aga...

  HOW TO KEEP YOUR BRAIN YOUNG AND HEALTHY Your brain’s real age isn’t written in stone—it can be shaped by how you live every day. That’s the takeaway from new University of Florida research, which found that habits like optimism, quality sleep, stress management, and strong social connections don’t just make you feel better—they can keep your brain years younger than your actual age. In some cases, researchers saw brains looking up to eight years younger in folks who adopted the proper habits, even among those struggling with chronic pain. So, what’s your brain’s age? It might be older or younger than your birth certificate, say if you care about staying sharp as you age (and let’s be real, who doesn’t?), your day-to-day choices matter—a lot. The University of Florida team used advanced MRI scans to track 128 adults, most living with chronic pain. By pairing scans with machine learning, they were able to estimate each person’s “brain age” and spot the difference between that numb...

KETTLEBELL SWING: A PROVEN EXERCISE FOR POWER AND ENDURANCE   There aren’t many exercises that hit as many benefits in as little time as the kettlebell swing. It’s not just gym folklore, either — peer-reviewed research confirms that this simple, powerful movement delivers results that put it in a league of its own. Let’s start with your heart: swings aren’t just for strength junkies. Researchers have found that a hard-hitting kettlebell swing session can get your heart pounding and lungs working just as much as a treadmill run, with the bonus of sculpting muscle at the same time ( The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research ). It’s probably the most efficient way to double-dip your cardio and resistance training goals. From a strength standpoint, the kettlebell swing is all about the posterior chain — those powerhouse muscles up your back, from your hamstrings and glutes on up to your lower back. EMG studies show that swings activate your hips and back in a big way, but wit...

  ROAD RAGE: AVOIDANCE AND MANAGEMENT Road rage isn’t just someone yelling at a steering wheel—it’s a real pattern of aggressive driving that can quickly turn dangerous. As traffic gets worse and commutes drag on, understanding what really sparks road rage and how to steer clear of it matters more than ever. Why People Lose Their Cool in Traffic It’s easy to think road rage is just about bad drivers or heavy traffic, but it’s not that simple. Studies show it’s a tangled mess of personality, stress, and sometimes even deeper issues. People who are quick to anger or act on impulse tend to lose their patience faster behind the wheel. Layer on everyday frustrations—being late, crowded streets, that driver who just cut you off—and it’s a recipe for trouble. Researchers have even linked this all to underlying psychological tendencies (see Aggression and Violent Behavior; Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology). Most road rage doesn’t explode out of nowhere. It usually starts smal...

CANCER: PREVENTION IS KEY   We all know someone touched by cancer — maybe a friend, a family member, or even ourselves. But here's some good news: taking charge of your health today can make a real difference in cancer risk down the road. Over the past few decades, scientists have dug deep into the ways everyday choices can help prevent cancer, showing that even modest lifestyle tweaks add up. It's not just a one-size-fits-all message like “quit smoking” or “wear sunscreen.” Prevention now leans on specific, evidence-backed shifts. Maintaining a healthy weight, eating a vibrant mix of fruits and vegetables, cutting back on alcohol, and carving out time for regular movement? These aren't just vague guidelines. Study after study confirms they lower your risk of some of the most common and deadliest cancers. And don’t overlook stress: regular exercise and mindful habits, whether it’s yoga, meditation, or simply unplugging for a walk, help manage stress, which may play a role i...