PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  Sports: The Hidden Key to Academic Success Getting your kids to hit the books? You should start with hitting the field. A fascinating new study from the University of Montreal has revealed what many parents might have suspected: Kids who play organized sports are significantly more likely to graduate high school. The numbers are eye-opening: Boys participating in team sports are 15% more likely to have a diploma by age 20, while girls see a 7% boost in graduation rates. But here's where it gets exciting. For girls, the benefits go beyond just graduating. Those participating in organized sports see their grades climb 8% higher than their non-athletic peers. And if they're involved in artistic sports like dance or gymnastics? That number jumps to a whopping 23% improvement in overall grades. The secret sauce is structure. When kids play sports under proper supervision, they're not just learning how to kick a ball or stick a landing – they're developing skills that trans...

  FATTY MUSCLES MAY CREATE HEALTH RISKS REGARDLESS OF BODY INDEX         People with pockets of fat hidden inside their muscles are at a higher risk of dying or being hospitalized from a heart attack or heart failure, regardless of their body mass index, according to research published in the  European Heart Journal  today (Monday). Marbled steak might be a delicacy, but fat-streaked human muscles? That's a different story. While chefs prize the delicate white lines running through beef, scientists have wondered what this fat means for human health. A groundbreaking study has just revealed a new insight into heart disease risk. What's hiding in your muscles might matter more than what's showing on your waistline. Dr. Viviany Taqueti, who runs the Cardiac Stress Lab at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, puts it bluntly: we've been looking at obesity all wrong. That BMI number your doctor obsesses over? It might be missing the bigger picture, especia...

  GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Tied to Risks and Benefits Beyond Weight Loss By Elana Gotkine, HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 -- For people with diabetes, the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) is associated with a reduced risk for specific disorders and conditions, including neurocognitive and cardiometabolic disorders and with an increased risk for others, including gastrointestinal and arthritic disorders, according to a study published online Jan. 20 in  Nature Medicine . Yan Xie and colleagues from the VA St. Louis Health Care System examined the effectiveness and risks of GLP-1 RAs. The authors used the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs databases to build a cohort of people with diabetes who initiated a GLP-1 RA. They compared them to patients initiating sulfonylureas, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (215,970, 159,465, 117,989, and 258,614 individuals, respectively). They wer...

  HIDDEN DANGERS IN MANY PROTEIN POWDERS That scoop of protein powder you mix into your post-workout smoothie might hide a dark secret. A troubling new report has uncovered something that might make you pause mid-shake: many protein powders have more than just muscle-building nutrients. The Clean Label Project's latest bombshell? They found dangerous levels of heavy metals lurking in some of the most popular protein powders on the market. And here's the real kicker - those "healthier" options you've been paying premium prices for? The organic, plant-based, and chocolate-flavored varieties? They're actually some of the worst offenders. The numbers are startling. Out of 160 products tested, almost half contained lead levels that exceeded California's legal limits. Even worse, one in five products packed more than double the allowed amount. It's enough to make you wonder what else is hiding in that innocent-looking powder. But before you toss your protein...

  THE BLINK METHOD EFFECTIVE IN TREATING NEARSIGHTNESS IN CHILDREN The benefit of contact lenses for slowing myopia is their lasting effect.         Capping ten years of work to stem the tide of nearsightedness, David Berntsen, Golden-Golden Professor of Optometry and chair of Clinical Sciences at the University of Houston College of Optometry is reporting that his team's method to slow myopia not only works -- but lasts. The original Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study showed that having children with myopia wear high-add power multifocal contact lenses slows its progression. Now, new results from the BLINK2 Study—which continued following these children—show that the benefits continue even after the lenses are no longer used. "One year after discontinuing treatment with high-add power soft multifocal contact lenses in older teenagers, myopia progression returns to normal with no loss of treatment benefit," reports Berntsen in JAMA Ophthalmology. T...

  EXCESSIVE PROTEIN INTAKE NEGATIVELY IMPACTS ARTERIES        v Too Much Protein Might Be Hurting Your Heart, New Study Reveals We've all heard it before: protein is the holy grail of nutrition. It builds muscle, keeps you full, and helps you lose weight. But new research suggests we might want to pump the brakes on our protein obsession. In a groundbreaking study published in Nature Metabolism, University of Pittsburgh researchers uncovered something startling: eating too much protein might be clogging our arteries. And here's the kicker – it's affecting more Americans than you might think. The science is fascinating. When we consume more than 22% of our daily calories from protein (think three protein shakes and a couple of chicken breasts), something concerning happens in our blood vessels. Our immune cells—specifically, these tiny custodians called macrophages—start acting up. Instead of keeping our arteries clean and healthy, they create cellular graveyards...

  INTERMITTENT FASTING IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH AND HELPS WITH WEIGHT LOSS   Want to lose weight? Skip dinner. That might sound too simple, but new research suggests it works. Scientists from Spanish universities discovered something fascinating about intermittent fasting: It's not just when you eat that matters, but exactly what time you stop eating. In one of the most extensive studies, researchers tracked nearly 200 people who tried different fasting schedules. The results? Those who finished their last meal before 5 p.m. shed more belly fat than people who ate later in the day. They also had better blood sugar control, crucial for preventing diabetes. This isn't your typical crash diet. The study, published in Nature Medicine, tested three different approaches: some participants ate between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., others between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., and a third group chose their eight-hour eating window. All three groups lost about 7-9 pounds on average, but the early bird...