Owner: Interactive Health URL:http://www.interactivehealth.com.au Join Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:57:04 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Interactive Health provides readers with current health, technology and gadget news that aid in the delivery of health and fitness. Site statistics:Click here
2nd death linked to peanut butter 2007-02-23 09:40:07 This seems to be happening all to often. Just off the top of my head, I remember there being a spinach and carrot juice contamination outbreak late last year resulting in death
s and many very sick people.
In Australia last week a man was fighting for his life after eating an instant microwave nachos meal. This page gives you a recent Salmonella Outbreak hisory.
Now there is a salmonella tainted brand of peanut butter that killed an elderly woman last month and an elderly man from Chicago.
At least 300 people so far have become ill after eating the peanut butter.
You really have to wonder why this sort of thing happens given the variety of Government health laws that cover food production.
The more I hear about these things, the less confident I become in the quality of foods being sold. I’m already one who avoids eating buffets and salad bar food but I don’t often think about canned or jars of food. The problem is that you can’t even tell by looking at or smelli Read more:linked
The dreaded weigh scale 2007-02-21 13:43:57 As many of you know, last week I was on holiday. We drank wine every night and ate out pretty much every day.
I’ve been back now for a couple of days and have not had the courage to step on the scales.
One part of me wants to totally destroy my inner peace by seeing the evidence of my time away and the other is trying to live in denial.
My current strategy is to just spend this week getting back to healthy eating habits and exercise and then maybe, sometime next week, I’ll get on those dreaded scales and hopefully be the weight I usually am.
I’ve watched Oprah and similar shows that have their personal trainers on telling you that the scale is your enemy. That you should avoid stepping on them. I know all the reasons but still, that inner peace I hold onto all so desperately is screaming at me to just get on the bloody scales and deal with it.
I’m still debating, maybe tomorrow..or maybe next week…or not at all. The weigh scale is not my friend, I sh
Healing foods 2007-02-21 10:03:42 I’ve often used the web to try and find out what healing properties certain foods have.
For instance, I suffer terribly from heartburn and would prefer, where possible, to avoid taking pills to relieve the discomfort.
I would recommend you check out this cool website which I found today. It’s called Healing
Food Reference.com and has a stack of information which you can search by either health condition or food type.
Apparently Fennel, Lavender and Cinnamon are good herbs to try..who knew!
tags technorati : healing foods, healing, diet, fitness, health
I’m back! And looking for an exercise bike. 2007-02-20 00:36:21 Hi iHealth readers!
Well, I’m back from my week long break. I had a fabulous time. We stayed at a beautiful studio apartment in a place called Margaret River, South of Perth, Western Australia.
The region is known for it’s wine and food, so, my partner and I endulged. By the end of the week, both of us are feeling like a regular healthy diet and exercise will be a good thing to get back into!
We spent alot of time at the many beaches and watched the surfers do their thing.
Now that we are back and a little heavier for the experience, we have decided to buy an exercise bike
.
Does anyone have any suggestions on make/model or features?
I can get a cheap one for around $120 US but they don’t look very sturdy. Looking at some catalogues online, there’s a huge variety and a big price range so anyone suggestions would be great.
I’ll start posting regularly now that I’m back so check in regularly.
BTW- the pic was taken at a place called Canal Rock
iHealth going on holidays 2007-02-11 02:41:44 Hi iHealth listeners.
I am going on a much needed break for a week.
I will check back in and post a couple of times but will not be reporting on any health or tech news until Tuesday 20 Feb.
Stay healthy!
The future of weight loss 2007-02-09 09:27:03 A new device that has been trialled at the Adelaide Flinders Medical Centre is being touted as a new miracle weight loss solution.
The device called the VBLOCK, similar to a pacemaker, blocks hunger nerves intermittently from the vagus nerve, two large cables which go from our brain to the gastrointestinal tract.
A woman, one of the first to use the device has lost 20 kilograms in a year without any changes to her dietary or exercise regime.
The device is implanted under the abdominal skin and powered by parts worn outside the body.
A smaller version of the VBLOCK is now being trialled.
It will not come cheap to those wishing to purchase, estimated retail cost will be $20,000.
Hopefully those who can afford to buy it will also take the opportunity to change their eating habits. Being overweight is not the only reason people get heart disease, cancers, etc.
Related posts
Ihealth - diet information
Links
Wikipedia - Vagus Nerve
EnteroMedics - VBLOCK makers
tags technorati : VBLOCK En
Philadelphia City Council to ban trans fat 2007-02-09 05:12:45 The Philadelphia
City Council
has unanimously voted to ban the use of trans
fans in most dishes served in Philadelphia restaurants.
The ban will come into place September 1 and will prohibit restuarants from cooking in trans fats and serving spreads that have trans fats in them.
This follows the recent ban put in place by New York. Read original post here
The ban has officials stating that they hope to see as much as a 6 percent reduction in coronary heart disese.
Related Posts
Ihealth - Heart Disease
Ihealth - trans fats
tags technorati : Philadelphia trans fats heart disease trans fats ban
Sea Shepherd - Update 2007-02-09 02:31:15 As many of you know, Michael and I are strong supporters of anti whaling. We do not believe that these magnificant mammals should be slaughtered for so called reasearch or for human consumption.
On our latest podcast we mentioned that Sea Shepherd
had posted a reward for anyone able to provide them with the co-ordinates of the Japanese whaling vessels currently in the Antarctic.
The good news is that Sea Shepherd has finely found the vessels and was disrupting their activities.
The bad news is that two people from Sea Shepherd have been reported missing.
The inflatable carrying an Australian and American was last seen operating alongside the factory ship Nisshin Maru when a sudden fog and drizzle descended on the sea near the Balleny Islands, south west of Tasmania, according to a Sea Shepherd statement.
tags technorati : sea shepherd anti whaling japanse whaling Read more:Update
The Biggest Loser - hmmmm 2007-02-07 07:47:41 This week in Australia saw the return of the 2nd series The Biggest Loser
.
I watched last year mainly out of interest, also, having the two American trainers was a bonus as both appear to be genuine people.
This year I’m not quite so sure what to make of it all. The show seems to be shaming the contestants and I have found it uncomfortable to watch.
Last night I got pretty annoyed at how they edited the show especially when they hyped up some poor guy who had to be taken to hospital. I assume that for extra affect they asked the paramedics to place a sheet over the man which served to create great angst among the contestants. It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t dead but still, it was corny.
The first night they gave all the contestants their favourite foods and we watched as they (not all) had food fights and consumed large quantities of food. Then, on big screens they replayed in slow motion the whole event. I felt sorry for them because it was made into a shameful a
McDonalds buys healthy heart tick for $330,000 2007-02-06 11:28:31 News from Australia today that McDonalds
has paid Aus$330,000 for the National Heart Foundation to endorse 9 of their new health choice menu items.
For those of you who don’t know, a National Heart Foundation healthy
tick on food products means that it’s a healthier choice for consumers. Corporations pay for this tick and the food is analysed by an independent body.
I won’t go into my own personal opinions regarding McDonald’s, you can read them here You can read them here
tags technorati : McDonalds healthy_choice National heart foundation obese overweight nutrition Read more:healthy heart
eight second workout - Interval Training update 2007-02-05 03:25:16 Recently I posted about the success of interval training in losing weight. IntervalTraining
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of NSW and the Garvan Institute.
It studied 45 overweight women over a 15 week period. Each were put through a 20 minute cycling regime, sprinting on an exercise bike for 8 seconds and then followed by 12 seconds of regular pace for 40 minutes.
The study showed that the body is prompted to kick into a metobolic response that allows for more fat burning under the skin and within the muscle.
You can apply this form of interval training to swimming, walking, running and rowing.
Related articles
This article from Australia’s SkyNews provides more details. Read article from SkyNews.com.au
tags technorati : interval training health exercise fitness 8 second workout Read more:Interval Training
Interactive Health Show #9 2007-02-03 12:21:12 Listen to Show Nine
Our first podcast for 2007 is now available for download.
Links and stories covered in tonights podcast
Sal tells us about some cool gadgets that you can use during and after your workouts
Michael discusses High-def endoscopy images and QuickTime videos on Macs that are allowing physicians to see subtle indications of early cancer lesions, improving their ability to make timely diagnoses.
The iPhone in a medical setting, what barriers, if any, are there to this becoming a reality?
We ask ihealth listeners to tell us about their cool gadgets
Michael and Sal talk about the US$25,000 bounty offered to anyone who can tell Sea Shepherd where the Japanese whaling ships are
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Michael’s No. 1 conservation concern is illegal whaling, check out the great work Sea Shepherd are doing to try and protect these magnificant mammals.
Whale Safe Beer
My Odeo Channel (odeo/43255497b86b4463)
tags technorati : interactive health health podca Read more:Health
, Interactive Health
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You call that a water bottle? 2007-01-31 07:51:04 The humble waterbottle
. It’s always there for you whenever you need to rehydrate after or during a workout.
Simple design, not much to it really. You squeeze, you get a sip of liquid. Simple.
Then, I came across this beauty. The Sportline HydraCoach - Intelligent Water Bottle
It sounds impressive and looks cool.
The HydraCoach is much more than a water bottle
. It will calculate your personal hydration needs, tracks every sip taken, monitors daily progress and motivates individuals to achieve and maintain proper hydration.
What a brilliant product! Keeping hydrated is just so important and having something like this to help you manage your fluid intake is a smart idea.
You can check out this nifty product by visiting: www.sportline.com
tags technorati : HydraCoach water bottle hydrate dehydration
Fitness & GPS trainers 2007-01-25 11:53:36
I recently posted about my love of gadgets and an interest I have in finding products for exercise and fitness.
I was recently made aware of product called the ADEO Fitness Trainer that combines talking GPS
technology and is ipod/MP3 ready.
The local Australian distributor, Satellite Fitness describe it as: “75% of runners listen to music during workouts. With Adeo you hear your favourite music PLUS receive real time spoken feedback. Great for motivation and milestone alerts. Fitness gear that works alone or connected to any MP3 player like the Apple iPod®” .
It has a very extensive online management application and unlike other products that can only track your run, this one can be set up to track a variety of activities including cycling, hiking, running and many more.
This product would be especially good for those serious about their fitness but would also appeal to people like me who love technology and need to exercise!
Although I haven’t had the opport
big bare belly banned from buffet 2007-01-24 14:52:10 I first heard this news story on the radio this afternoon.
A man from Rockhampton in Queensland has been banned from his local club because of wearing a shirt that doesn’t cover his belly
.
Mr Johannesen who is a regular at the Bluebirds United Sports Club received a call notifying him that several complaints had been made about his choice of clothing and that he should stay home rather than embarrass himself.
Mr Johannesen said "It’s just been overwhelmingly discriminatory. I’m just totally disgusted”.
It is interesting that women can walk around with their stomachs showing, and let’s face it, alot of us have wobbly bellies, and you rarely hear of us being banned from establishments. It’s a bit surprising because generally, men get away with being overweight more than women. What’s up with that?
tags technorati : overweight belly stomach
Interval training 2007-01-23 06:19:07 While watching the local news last night, I was interested to watch a story they did on research just completed in Western Australia which shows that interval training is better for people trying to shed those extra pounds. In fact, it’s body of evidence is so strong that there is talk that the Health Department may need to alter the existing guidelines on fitness to include interval training.
For those who don’t know, interval training is high-intensity exercise periods alternated with periods of rest. These higher and lower intensity periods are repeated several times to form a complete workout.
This video is also worth watching for those interested in doing interval training. The Food Dude, as always, explains it very well!
tags technorati : interval training exercise fitness Read more:Interval
Motivation - tech gadgets 2007-01-16 06:33:34 Recently, I posted that this year I want to be fitter and healthier at 36 than what I was at 35.
So far, I’ve done reasonably well. I am generally more active and mixing up my exercise routine to ensure I don’t get too bored. One problem I am having though which is sort of annoying is that my foot gets pins and needles and goes numb when I do high impact workouts. That’s a bummer because cardio is important. But when your foot is asleep, nasty things tend to happen. For instance, if you are on a stair stepper and really working hard, then all of a sudden you can’t feel anything in your left foot, you’re going to literally slip off the stair. Luckily, I was able to catch myself before I fell sideways onto a table.
As you can imagine, working on my stair stepper is no longer enjoyable. I imagine that regardless of whether my foot kept falling asleep or not, that, in time I would have become bored, which I am!
So this brings me to my question. What Read more:gadgets
, tech gadgets
Link between working mums and overweight kids 2007-01-11 04:58:09 A groundbreaking study from Australia has found that one in five kids are overweight due to the amount of time mums spend working
. You can read the full article here
This study has already sparked some interesting debate around my workplace. Out of approximately 20 staff members, we have one male. This story certainly hit a nerve with most of the mums in the office today!
tags technorati : child obesity, overweight
Another year..another resolution…. 2007-01-03 06:23:59 Hi iHealth readers. First of all, Happy New Year!
I haven’t set new year resolutions for quite a few years now as I don’t personally believe in them. This might be due to the fact that I never did manage to fulfill them!
But this year I did set myself a challenge. I want to be healthier and fitter at 36 than what I was at 35. My birthday is 10 December and I must admit that I felt flat on my 35th Birthday. Admittedly, I was suffering from a terrible virus which had taken it’s toll on me after two weeks. I felt sick, tired and generally unfit.
That being said, I have not be exercising enough and had noticed last year that I was tired by 4.00pm most days and waking up feeling like I had not slept enough. Apart from that, I felt that my body had lost some of it’s toning.
So by midnight New Year’s Eve, I promised myself to try and eat better and exercise regularly. I did not promise myself to lose weight or diet. That’s not my goal. I’m s
New Year’s Resolution to lose weight - It all starts up top 2006-12-29 03:08:13 Well, another year is drawing to a close and another is about to begin.
For many of us, it’s the time to make New Year
’s resolutions and many will promise themselves to lose weight
.
The Food Dude has another great video (2 part) that I recommend you watch. He explains how to go about it the right way and also how important it is to be mentally ready to lose weight and stay fit and healthy.
Enjoy!
Part One
Part Two
tags technorati : weight diet lose weight exercise Read more:Resolution
A Christmas message 2006-12-23 22:40:11 We will be taking a short break over the festive holidays but will be back in January 07.
The Interactive Health team would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas
and a very happy, safe and successful New Year!
Interactive Health Show #8 2006-12-23 02:38:48 Show Eight
Our last podcast for 2006 is now available for download.
Links to stories covered in tonights podcast
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Michael’s No. 1 conservation concern is illegal whaling, check out the great work Sea Shepherd are doing to try and protect these magnificant mammals.
Oxfam UnwrappedSal recommends donating to this worthy charity. You can buy an animal for a village in a 3rd World country.
Another great charity. This one gives you the option to buy or contribute to the purchase of livestock.
The McGrath Foundation The McGrath Foundation raises money to fund breast care nurses primarily in rural Australia.
My Odeo Channel (odeo/43255497b86b4463)
tags technorati : Interactive Health
podcast health Podcast
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A truly special gift this Christmas 2006-12-22 03:09:44 Hi iHealth readers.
Well, another year is drawing to a close and most of us have purchased all our presents for loved ones for Chistmas. But as we know, in many countries, people are just trying to survive another day. Many people simply do not have access to food and water, the basic essentials.
I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of wonderful programs Heifer International and Oxfam Unwrapped . You can help hungry families feed themselves by helping to purchase livestock. How cool is that!
One of my dearest friends in Sydney, Australia purchased a goat on my behalf from Oxfam Unwrapped today and I think it’s just a wonderful program. (Oxfam will be better suited to our Australian readers)
If you have a spare few dollars, I would encourage you to visit the sites and make a contribution.
tags technorati : Christmas
donation Oxfam Heifer International Read more:truly
Tips for taking it easy this holiday season 2006-12-14 11:36:21 The University Medical Center in Tuscon has some practical advice for keeping stress to a minimum this holiday season.
Read tips now
New York bans trans fats 2006-12-07 11:51:26 The city board of health voted unanimously yesterday to ban restaurants from using the oil containing trans
fats for frying by July 1 next year, and eliminate them from all foods by July 1, 2008.
New York
has become the first major city in the United States to ban use of artificial trans fats in more than 20,000 restaurants and eateries.
The trans fats are linked with coronary heart diseases by researchers.
Managing your Diabetes this Christmas 2006-12-01 13:19:54 This article from 50connect.co.uk has some great advice for those of you living with Diabetes
and managing it over the Christmas
holidays.
The good news is, you can still enjoy all those treats and trimmings!
tags technorati : Diabetes Christmas
Children’s hospital adding telemedicine 2006-11-22 07:56:52 Australian IT has published an article about the Royal Children
’s Hospital in Brisbane utilising telemedicine with an $18 million grant.
A range of services will be made available including wireless networks that will enable remote telemedicine and radio-frequency identification technology in wristbands. You can read the full story here
Great to see an IT Department in Health taking the initiative and utilising technology to help people! Well done. Let’s hope others will follow…
tags technorati : telemedicine radio - frequency identification Royal Children’s Hospital Brisbane Read more:hospital
Latest user post 2006-11-17 10:32:18 Arrrrgg! Need dieting help! Read post
OK, so about 5 weeks ago I began to change my diet. The first week and 1/2 were great, went from 225 to 215. However these last three weeks or so I’ve seen NO difference. Read post
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