MonarchsTV

Lately I’ve been taking one baby aspirin per day for health reasons. Dr. Oz says take two. Here’s his reasoning.

Dr. Mehmet Oz: Aspirin absolutely benefits the heart and prevents clots from suddenly closing off an artery. Most men and women over the age of 50 should take 2 baby aspirin a day. The reason we give 2 rather than one is that many Americans are resistant to aspirin. And because the side effects are so minor, it makes sense to give double the dose.

I’m rarely impressed by most “health” type websites. Most seem to be pushing one philosophy or product with little if any scientific evidence to backup their claims. “Blue Zones” is an exception and thanks to Dr. Oz. I found the book which started the program and a great website for all sorts of great information and videos. www.bluezones.com

Here’s also a nice introductory video.

An article from the April 2009 Consumer Reports on Health showed how easy it is to build your strength with minimal training. Instead of the two to three sets of ten of each exercise, they said that one set of strength type exercises builds about 66% as much strength as two sets. (They didn’t mention what percentage that is of three sets.) They also recommended that you lift slowly (two seconds) and then lower even more slowly (4 seconds).

While I’ve found is that I can get stronger by lifting weights just twice a week, I’m going to give the one set method a try and see how it works.

For people over 60 they also recommended lifting just twice a week to let muscles recover.

Here’s more evidence from the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease to show that coffee might help in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. “Mice with a rodent equivalent of the disease showed a 50 per cent reduction in levels of amyloid protein in their brains after scientists spiked their drinking water with caffeine. The change was reflected in their behavior as the mice developed better memories and quicker thinking.” (link)