PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  FLU: STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH The flu isn’t just a seasonal nuisance—it’s a virus that knocks millions of people flat every year. For some, it’s a rough week. For others—kids, seniors, anyone with a chronic condition—it can be far more serious, even deadly. The silver lining? You don’t need a medical degree to keep yourself and your loved ones safer. You need to put a few proven strategies into play. Make the Flu Shot Your Priority If you do nothing else, make time for your annual flu shot. The science is clear: vaccination is your best defense. It isn’t just about you—it’s about everyone you interact with, especially those who can’t get vaccinated or are at greater risk of complications. The flu shot is even recommended for pregnant people, offering protection that lasts for months after the baby is born. And because the virus changes every year, last year’s shot won’t give you the protection you need now. Getting that updated vaccine every year is key. Why Bother w...

Stiffness: How to Maintain Flexibility  Getting older doesn’t have to mean giving up your morning run or groaning every time you stand up. Sure, stiffness in your muscles and joints can sneak up on you—sometimes it’s just a few awkward steps out of bed, other times it’s a stubborn ache that won’t quit. For some, it’s a minor annoyance. For others, it can feel like a wall between you and the life you want to live. So what’s really behind this creeping stiffness, and what can you actually do about it? Why Do Muscles and Joints Get Stiff As We Age? As the years pass, our muscles and joints change in ways we don’t always notice—until one day, we do. Muscles lose some of their natural stretch, and the connective tissues (think tendons and ligaments) get thicker and less elastic. The result? Muscles get stiffer, and joints don’t move like they used to. Scientists point to a few culprits: changes in the structure of muscle fibers, more cross-linking in the collagen that makes up our conne...

SORBITOL: THE DARK SIDE OF SWEETNESS Think you’re doing your body a favor by swapping sugar for a “healthy” alternative? Not so fast. A new study out of Washington University in St. Louis shows that sorbitol—a common sugar substitute in diet foods, gums, candies, and even plenty of "health" bars—might be stressing your liver almost as much as the real thing. The twist? Your body can turn sorbitol into fructose, and high fructose intake isn’t doing your liver any favors. Researchers found that after you eat sorbitol, it can be processed in your gut and sent straight to the liver, where it’s just one step away from acting like regular sugar. Sure, certain gut bacteria can break down some of that sorbitol before it causes trouble, but if you consume too much—or if your gut doesn’t have the right microbial helpers—your liver ends up doing the heavy lifting. And here’s where things get tricky: Fructose overload is closely tied to liver disease and even cancer cell growth. Patti’s ...

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...