People who are suffering from chronic kidney disease or any other kidney ailment should take extra care of what they consume while eating or drinking. Apart from following an active lifestyle, it is important to stay hydrated. Here are seven superfoods that you should be eating to keep your kidneys in good health.

Updated Apr 24, 2023 | 04:17 PM IST

Ayurvedic Superfoods That You Should Eat For Good Kidney Health (Image credit - Unsplash)

Apples

You must have heard the famous saying that an apple a day keeps a doctor away. An apple also boosts kidney and heart function as the soluble fiber in apples can help lower cholesterol and glucose levels effectively. In fact, the peel of an apple is a source of antioxidants, especially quercetin. You can also have fresh apples as they are also rich in vitamin C. You can use them raw and sprinkle some cinnamon along with a few drops of honey.

Berries

Berries are a great source of antioxidants and helpful nutrients. Blueberries, in particular, are rich in antioxidants and are a low source of vitamin C and fiber. Apart from kidney disease, they also protect the body against various cancers and heart diseases. You can also add strawberries and cranberries to your diet to protect kidney health.

Citrus fruits

You must try to get more and more Vitamin C for robust kidney health. Citrus fruits like lemons and oranges have this mineral in abundance. In fact, some studies have claimed that consuming diluted lemon juice or lemon water daily can decrease the rate of kidney stone formation.

Red grapes

Yet another superfood that can help patients with chronic kidney disease, red grapes are low in sodium, potassium, and phosphorus. Kidney patients are advised to avoid these minerals. The flavonoids present in red grapes give them a reddish color.

Kale

A member of the cabbage family, this green vegetable is packed with vitamins A, C, and several other nutritional components. Dark leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale are packed with vitamins and minerals that promote healthy kidney function.

Red bell pepper

This flavorful vegetable is low in potassium, making it ideal for those suffering any kidney ailments. In addition, its richness in vitamin C, A, B6, fiber, and folic acid makes it a good superfood during kidney disease.

Sweet potato

The richness of sweet potato in several vitamins and minerals makes it ideal for consumption any time of the day. The high fiber content in sweet potato further breaks down slowly, making it an ideal food for reducing weight too.

What to avoid?

There are some foods that you should avoid to prevent kidney damage. CKD patients should avoid phosphorus-rich food such as meat, fish, dairy products, most grains, legumes, and nuts. Apart from that, protein in the form of red meat can also be harmful to the kidneys.

Conclusion

Keeping a tab on what you eat, or drink is crucial in kidney disease. Even if you are a healthy person with no kidney ailment, these superfoods can help in preventing any damage to your vital organs. Apart from these options, people with kidney disease can also consult a good Ayurveda practitioner or doctor to have a fair idea of what to eat and how. They can also suggest to you some herbs or spices that help in recovering from kidney ailments naturally, without any side effects.

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7 Ayurvedic Superfoods That You Should Eat For Good Kidney Health - Zoom TV

A CHANGING OF THE GUARD took place in the world of strongman this week, as a new champion was crowned as the World's Strongest Man and one of the greatest ever to compete in the strength sport took part in his final competition. The event took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from April 19 to 23.

Canadian athlete Mitchell Hooper claimed the 2023 title in just his second WSM appearance, dominating in his qualifying group and the final round of competition by winning three of the six events outright (Shield Carry, Deadlift, Bus Pull) and tying for the top spot in another (Max Dumbbell Press). He was outside the top two in just one event (Fingal's Fingers). Hooper totaled 53.5 points for the victory. This was a massive jump from last year, when Hooper finished outside the podium in eighth place in his debut.

The thing I love the most about strongman is the incredible community," Hooper said following his win. "We support each other and I think you can see that in spades when we are out here competing against one another. That is true at the local level, the pro level and world level. We are not short on people to be inspired by in the strongman world. I feel very lucky to be part of it and hope to grow that as much as I possibly can."

Tom Stoltman, the two-time defending defending champion, finished just behind Hooper with 49 points. Stoltman won the other two finals events (Fingal's Fingers and Atlas Stones). Oleksii Novikov, the 2020 winner, rounded out the top three with 41 points.

Todd Burandt

Brian Shaw, the four-time winner taking part in his 16th WSM competition, called it a career after a seventh place finish. Shaw finished second in his qualifying group to make the finals, a massive effort in his final showing after battling an infection during his pre-competition prep. He retires with the second-most wins in WSM history, and widely considered among the best strongman athletes ever.

The 2023 World's Strongest Man competition is over, but you'll still have an opportunity to catch the action on TV. Coverage from the event will air on CBS and CBS Sports Network later this May.

Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men's Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.

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Mitchell Hooper Wins World's Strongest Man 2023 as Shaw Retires - Men's Health

Zendaya has made a name for herself as an actress, what with her Emmys and Golden Globe awards and all, but people forget that shes a singer, too. Well, Zendaya just hit up Coachella with a gentle reminder that she can do pretty much everything.

Z, who hasn't performed since 2015, hit the stage in a flouncy pink mini dress and knee-high lace-up boots that showed off her seriously strong legsand she gave people a show.

Zendaya sang alongside Labyrinth at this years Coachellaher first musical performance since 2015.

Zendaya later shared several snippets from her concert in her Instagram Stories and its clear she had the best time. Wish yall could understand how loud it was last night, she wrote over one video of her heading onto the stage. When I tell you this is exactly what I heard in my ears, my mic pics up every single one of you. So thank you for singing along, it was one of the only ways I knew what I was singing LOL.

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Zendaya has been having some serious legs moments lately. There was this one at Paris Fashion Week:

This one at the Valentino show:

And this Valentino campaign shot:

Zendaya previously told Justine Magazine that shes not always motivated by exerciseso, she tries to find ways to spice things up. For me, I enjoy dancing and doing choreography, stuff like that. So, that's how I get my exercise, she shared Find something that's really fun for you. Whether that's jazzercise or whatever.

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Zendaya later shared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that she wore different wigs to work out during the height of the pandemic to entertain herself and her assistant. Every daybecause I missed acting so muchto inspire me to go downstairs and work out, I would wear different wigs, because I have a whole collection of wigs from all the red carpets that I've done," she said. "I wear a different wig [and] come down in a different character."

On the food front, Zendaya told Harpers Bazaar that shes not a breakfast person, even though she loves breakfast foods. I'll eat breakfast food, but it must have some Nutella on it: pancakes, berries, and Nutella, she said.

Zendaya is also honest about her culinary skills. I don't cook. I think I could cookI can do anything I put my mind to, so I could cook. I just (a) don't like following directions, and I'm (b) too lazy, she said. So, she tends to order in. I usually try to ask everyone in the house what they want, but the final decision is mine, she said. If I want Chick-fil-A, you guys are going to have Chick-fil-A. I will order something for you, but it will be from where I want.

Welcome back to the stage, Zendaya!

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Mens Health, Womens Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a masters degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.

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Zendaya's Killer Legs Were Toned AF As She Performed At Coachella - Women's Health

Switching from a Fitbit smartwatch or tracker to an Apple Watch doe means changing the way you view your goals, targets, and achievements, and will initially alienate and frustrate Fitbit users switching to the Apple fitness regime.

Youll get used to it but Apple hasnt made it easy for switchers to find a natural match for their beloved Fitbit experience. As with getting fit, you need to work at it.

Apples Activity app focuses primarily on Movement, Exercise, and Standing rather than Fitbits more straightforward Step, Floor, and Distance measurements.

Fitbit users will be put out by Apples different approach to fitness and health metrics, but there are ways to make the transition easier and force the Apple Watch to behave more like a Fitbit.

Fitbit switchers will have to show some patience and flexibility when moving to the Apple Watch and may never get the same simple joy they previously enjoyed with Fitbit, but the Apple Watch does offer much better smartwatch functionality and closer interaction with the iPhone.

About me: Ive been a Fitbit user since the original Classic pedometer in 2009. I have reviewed Fitbits, from clip-on trackers to smartwatches, but it looks to me like now is the time to change to an Apple Watch, despite my love of being a Fitbit user.

Since being bought by Google in 2019, Fitbit devices appear to have slipped down the new owners priority list for new features and enhancements.

Indeed, the latest Fitbit smartwatches have actually lost features, and are now more like fitness trackers in a smartwatch shape. The newest versions of the Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Sense (Versa 4 and Sense 2) are not as advanced as their predecessors (Versa 3 and Sense). They have been kneecapped in terms of on-device apps and streamlined (Fitbits words) on former favorites such as challenges and social groups. Just read our sister title Tech Advisors reviews of the latest Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2.

The Versa 4 and Sense 2 basically had their third-party app support ripped out and lost even some of Fitbits own functions, such as Music Control and, weirdly for a Google product, Google Assistant.

Google appears to be focusing on its own more expensive Pixel Watch, which incorporates Fitbit health tracking. If you want a proper smartwatch, Fitbit is now the wrong solution unless you choose the Google Pixel Watch. Google even states that the Pixel Watch features Fitbits most accurate heart rate tracking yetanother slap in the face for iPhone-using Fitbit fans.

Foundry

As the Google Pixel watch works only with Android, iPhone users must switch to Apples Watch for smart features. Fitbits trackers do have some smart featuressuch as notificationsbut if you want a proper watch experience with your iPhone, Google/Fitbit is forcing you to Apple.

The Google Pixel Watch is also more expensive than Fitbit smartwatchesstarting at $349/339 compared to the Versa 4 at $199/179. That said, switching to the Apple Watch is not cheap either, with Watch prices starting at $249/259 (SE) and rapidly rising to $799/849 (Ultra).

iPhone users will soon face the inevitable and must look at the Apple Watch as an alternative smartwatch, or just move to the top-end Fitbit trackerssuch as the more-than-able Fitbit Charge 5.

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Counting the number of steps you make during the day is at the core of Fitbit metrics. While the daily 10,000-step target is not based on actual science, its well held by medics that even gentle walking to this level is definitely good for your health.

10,000 steps are about the same as walking four to five miles, depending on your stride, and a number that has been linked to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke, and heart failure), multiple types of cancer, and dementia.

Fitbit uses Steps as its primary goal, although you can switch this to Distance, Calories, or Active Zone Minutes if you preferbut Steps will always remain an important target. Apple, on the other hand, does not regard steps as one of its three primary fitness goals (Move, Activity, Stand). Apple instead concentrates its red Activity Move ring on how many active calories youve burned, the green Exercise ring on how many minutes of brisk activity youve done, and the blue Stand ring on how many times in the day youve stood and moved for at least one minute each hour.

But what if you want to keep counting the number of steps you make each day via the Apple Watch?

While you can see steps inside the Activity app, Apple doesnt offer a way to display it as a complication on the face, so you need a third-party app such as Pedometer++.

This is how you add steps to the Apple Watch via complications.

Note that, unlike with Fitbit, the step count that now shows on your Apple Watch clock face isnt a live step count but is updated on a regular basis.

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Just note, if you set the bottom complication to Steps & Distance you get a more accurate step count than you do in the top left Steps one. Neither is a live step count, so depending on when they update, youll often see different step counts.

Switcher tip: Fitbit users are going to have to rewire their fitness-measurement brain when switching to the Apple Watch. Steps are not entirely out but the motivating Red, Green, and Blue Activity rings take a little getting used to. Some will prefer steps to be at the forefront, but its like youve changed personal trainer, youll find new motivation tactics work in the end.

Apple and Fitbit count the number of floors you walk/climb each day using the built-in barometric altimeter to count flights climbed based on atmospheric pressure changes.

Again, Apple doesnt regard the floor/flight metric as a primary measurement, and you have to go through the same rigmarole as you did with steps if you want to show flights on your Apple Watch face. Otherwise, the stats for flights climbed is found in the Activity app with some scrolling down to get to the numbers.

Switcher tip: Floors climbed is not used as a main fitness metric, so youll you need to use a complication as described in the Steps section above.

Its the same story for showing the distance you walked, run, or hopped through the day. You can set it as a complication in the Activity Digital clock faceat the bottom in Steps & Distance works well enough.

Switcher tip: Like steps, then you need to manually set up a complication to see the distance traveled.

Apple

Counting calories either in or out of the body is quite a subjective process, so Apples insistence on Calories Burned as a primary goal seems an oddly unequal one.

Many people equate calories burned as a weight-loss rather than movement metric, and it could suggest that fitness is about being slim rather than being healthy. Fitbit, to its credit, doesnt even show Calories as a metric to child accounts. Calories can be a toxic measurement.

Apple uses your personal informationheight, weight, gender and ageplus other daily activity metricsincluding your Active Metabolic Rate or AMR to calculate how many calories you burn.

Fitbit devices combine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) based on the physical data you entered into your Fitbit account (height, weight, sex, and age) with the rate at which you burn calories at rest plus your activity and heart-rate data (AMR) to estimate your calories burned at rest and in exercise.

Fitbit considers that at least half the calories you burn in a day are used up maintaining vital body functions (such as breathing, blood circulation, and heartbeat). Because your body burns calories when youre sleeping or not moving when you wake up Fitbit shows you the calories already burned, and this number increases throughout the day.

The number you see on your Fitbit device is your total calories burned for the whole day. The number you see on the Apple Watch is just the supposed calories burned through exercise.

It is not as accurate a measurement as counting steps, and its a curious one for Apple to hang its hat on. While its easy to compete with friends or plan a day based around walking, boasting about calorie burn is just not a real thing.

Most activity tracker users dont regularly change their physical datafor example, weightso as this changes, the calorie count becomes less accurate.

Switcher tip: No device is accurate at calculatinglets be honest, estimatingthe number of calories burned, but the red ring on the Apple Watch Activity app is a primary goal Fitbit users will just have to get used to when they switch. Please, Apple, allow users to customize this ring to Steps.

Fitbit counts Active Zone Minutes (AZM) as your time spent in any heart-pumping activity. Its default goal is based on the medically recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

It rates your activity based on your age and resting heart rate, and then determines which of three active zones you reach during the day. The harder you work the more credit you get: one minute in the Fat Burn zone earns you one active zone minute (AZM). A minute in the Cardio or Peak zones earns you two AZMs.

Fitbit devices buzz you as you enter each zone.

While Apples Activity app relies on arm motion and the Watchs accelerometer to track Movement (the red calories ring), the Exercise measurement (green ring) uses the accelerometer and heart-rate sensor and GPS.

The Exercise ring tracks how many minutes you spent exercising during the day. Apple Watch measures your heart rate and movement to count Exercise minutes and fill up your Exercise ring. Apple says it is looking for any activity thats at least as intense as a brisk walk.

By using the Workout app, you help the Watch count Exercise minutes more accurately.

Your Apple Watch is looking for an elevated heart rate while sensing movement.

Switcher tip: If you are happy with a simple Exercise goal, then Apples Exercise ring is easier to understand than Fitbits Active Zone Minutes, but you get more detailed breakdowns from Fitbit on heart-rate during exercisenicely visualized in the Fitbit app.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

What Fitbit calls Exercise is called Workouts by Apple.

Workouts tracked by Fitbit: Walk, Run, Bike, Elliptical, Stairclimber, Interval Workout, Hike, Yoga, Circuit Training, Pilates, Martial Arts, Kickboxing, Swim, Outdoor Workout, Spinning, Golf, Bootcamp, Tennis, Treadmill, Weights, Workout.

Workouts tracked by Apple Watch: Walk, Run, Cycling, Elliptical, Rower, Stair Stepper, HIIT, Hiking, Yoga, Functional Strength Training, Dance, Cooldown, Core Training, Pilates, Tai Chi, Swimming, Wheelchair, Multisport.

Both activity devices can automatically sense that you have started certain forms of exercise and suggest you begin tracking them.

Fitbit will automatically track: Aerobic workout, Elliptical, Outdoor bike, Run, Sports, Swim, Walk.

Apple Watch will automatically track: Indoor Walk, Outdoor Walk, Indoor Run, Outdoor Run, Elliptical, Rower, Pool Swim, and Open Water Swim.

You can turn off auto-workout detection on both devices if you find it bothersome, which it can be if you are out and about moving around for longer than 15 minutes.

Apple gives you much more on-wrist detail about your workout when its ended or paused, plus split information during your run or walk. Fitbit users have to swipe to get as much on-wrist data during exercise.

Both Fitbit and Watch app store and share past exercise/workout data in more detail on the phone in the Days of Exercise (Fitbit) or Activity (Watch) sections. Fitbits data visualizations are more simple and easy to digest. Apples are more hardcore sports science in looks. The simple exerciser will prefer Fitbits friendlier graphics. More dedicated sports enthusiasts will dig Apples graphs.

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On a tracked walk or run, the Apple Watch will show you the workout duration, active calorie burn, heart rate bpm, average pace and distance. With more swiping, Fitbit shows you workout duration, steps, active zone minutes, active calorie burn, heart rate bpm, average pace and distance.

Switcher tip: In the moment, the Apple Watch gives you more detail than Fitbit about your exercise, but the casual exerciser will take some getting used to Apples pro sports data displays.

One of my favorite health prompts is Fitbits Hourly Activity tracking, which suggests you get up and walk at least 250 steps an houryou set which consecutive hours you want to be prompted on.

Apple takes this further by making it one of its primary goals, with its own blue ring in the Activity app.

Apple calls it Stand, and thats nearly all you have to do: get up out of your chair and mooch about a bit for a minute, and you are rewarded with a ping and a congratulations if you havent got up for the first 50 minutes of the hour. Wheelchair users get a prompt to Roll instead of Stand.

Fitbits 250-step rule makes you work harder for your hourly reward than Apples Stand count. You can get a Stand point if you get up and wander off to the toilet in the night.

Switcher tip: Both Hourly Activity and Stand are helpful, and Fitbit users will quickly appreciate the lower threshold of the Apple Watchs Stand metric, but thats maybe just me being lazy.

Apple is much more lively when it comes to suggesting you pick up the pace when it comes to hitting your goals, although the Watch can be told to quit the personal-trainer chat.

Its also politer, with a Good Morning message that reminds you of the Watchs battery levelparticularly important given the Watchs feeble battery life.

At first, I found the activity rings to be too simplistic compared to Fitbits raw step count. But the more I used the Apple Watch, the better I appreciated the rings as a quick motivating signal, and the numbers are also included on the Digital Activity clock face.

Switcher tip: Fitbit users might miss the weekly Fitbit Progress Report email that summarizes your 7-day effort across multiple statistics. But for during-the-day motivation, the Apple Watch is a better motivator.

Foundry

Monitoring your heart rate is core to both Fitbit and Apple Watch, and both do an excellent job at using this data to power insights into your exercise and general health.

Both calculate the number of times the heart beats per minuteyour heart rate in bpmusing a technology tongue-twistingly called photoplethysmography.

When your heart beats, capillaries expand and contract based on blood volume changes. To determine your heart rate, the optical heart-rate sensor in the Fitbit and Apple Watch flashes green LEDs hundreds of times per second to detect these volume changes in the capillaries above your wrist. Then your device calculates how many times your heart beats per minute.

Your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) is the number of times your heart beats per minute when youre still and well-rested and not dashing around, lifting weights or playing tennis. In general, your RHR should be between 60-100 bpm. Under 60 is normal for super-fit athletes.

Your heart rate will increase when you are more physically active (your heart is working to pump more oxygen-rich blood around your body), and both devices use this data to determine how much energy you are using while exercising.

Your target heart rate should be about 50-70% of your maximum heart rate during moderate-intensity activity like walking. To find your normal maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. During more intense exercise activity, your target heart rate should be about 70-85% of your maximum heart rate.

Both Fitbit and Apple Watch can also check Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is the variation in time between heartbeats. People with a higher HRV have better cardiovascular fitness and might be more resilient to stress. Mindfulness, meditation, sleep, and physical activity can help improve your HRV. A significant drop in HRV may indicate that your body is experiencing illness, stress, or depression or anxiety.

To get to your HRV data from your Apple Watch, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap Browse and then choose Heart. Here you can find your Heart Rate, Resting Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Walking Heart Rate Average, Cardio Recovery and Cardio Fitness, plus High Heart Rate Notifications and electrocardiogram (ECG) readings.

Fitbit users should check the Health Metrics section of the Fitbit mobile app, where they can see their Breathing Rate, Resting Heart Rate, and Heart Rate Variability. In the Today section of the Fitbit app there are heart-rate and cardio-fitness graphs. Heart Rate Notifications can be found here, too.

Another important heart rating is known as VO2 max, which is the maximum volume of oxygen your body can import, transport and utilize in a single minute during intense physical activity. Fitbit and Apple use VO2 max in their Cardio Fitness scores.

The electrical sensors on your Fitbit or Apple Watch detect your heart rhythm. When you use a special electrocardiogram (ECG) app, your heart rhythm data is analyzed for signs of Atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is a type of irregular heart rhythm, caused when the upper chambers of the heart beat out of rhythm.

An ECG can help diagnose some heart conditions, such as abnormal heart rhythms and coronary heart disease (heart attack and angina).

You can check your ECG with the Fitbit Charge 5, Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Sense 2, and on Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, Series 6, Series 7, Series 8 or Ultra; the ECG app is not supported on Apple Watch SE or Fitbit Versa 3 & 4.

Switcher tip: Both Apple and Fitbit measure the same heart measurements. Its easier to see your current heart rate on the Fitbit clock face, although you might have to tap to find it if you are on another measurement display. You can set it as a feature on the Apple Watchs Digital Activity clock face, but actual data is still a tap away.

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The duration and quality of sleep is now seen as a major and significant health metric. Measuring sleep length and quality, and then trying to improve both is also a fascinating project. After all, going to bed earlier is surely easier than running a half marathon. Having a decent nights sleep is not always easy, however, and so knowing your sleep quality by the minute can be a useful tool.

Both Apple Watch and Fitbit can track your sleep and do so in similar ways.

Apple Watch can estimate the time you spend in each sleep stageCore, Deep and REMas well as when you might have woken up.

Fitbit estimates your sleep stages using a combination of your movement and heart-rate patterns. While youre sleeping, it tracks the beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as you transition between Light, Deep, and REM sleep stages.

Fitbits Sleep Stages graph (viewed in the Fitbit iPhone app) is better looking and more informative than Apples (in the iPhones Health app), which looks a little squashed and fuzzy.

Fitbit shows the most recent and a 30-day average of your sleep stages, and can benchmark this against people of a similar age and gender. It also shows your estimated oxygen variation here, but hides some detailed data (your Snore Score, Sleeping Heart Rate and Restlessness) behind the Fitbit Premium paywall.

Apple shows most recent, weekly, monthly and six-monthly sleep data in rather difficult to gauge column graphs. It also shows your respiratory rate, and sleep duration over the past seven days.

While both Fitbit and Apple can monitor your sleep, Apples recently improved sleep-tracking functionality is let down by the Watchs much shorter battery life.

The Apple Watch SE and Series 8 have a battery life of between 18 and 24 hours, depending on your usage.

The Fitbit Versa 4 has a 6-day battery life, which means it is far less likely to die on you during the time you are sleeping.

If you charge your Watch overnight, sadly sleep tracking is impossible. To ensure you can get sleep data every night, youll need to top of the Watch battery during the day, each day. With Fitbit, you need worry maybe twice a week at most.

Switcher tip: Fitbits sleep analysis is better, but Apple is catching up. But if sleep measurement is important to you, then switching from Fitbit to Apple watch means you must be methodical in your device charging to ensure that the Watch is powered up for the night.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The Watch SE and Series 8 have an 18-hour battery life, or 36 hours in Low Power Mode, which disables Always On display, heart rate notifications, background heart-rate and blood oxygen measurements, and the start workout reminder

Read more here:
How to switch from Fitbit to Apple Watch - Macworld

WHEN YOU NEED to power up your posterior muscles, there are few more effective exercises than the deadlift. There's one deadlift variation that may have gotten lost in the weight room shadows, however, that just might be one of your best options for homing in on your hamstrings and building resiliency in your lower back: the stiff-leg deadlift.

The stiff leg deadlift is far from a new exercise, and may not even be the best hamstring exercise in your arsenal, even if Arnold once included them in his routine during his Golden Era bodybuilding reign. Many gym-goers today are either unfamiliar with this move or typically opt for the popular Romanian deadlift instead.

The stiff leg deadlift wont be a movement you'll use to bust out a new 1RM, like its standard or sumo-style counterparts, but stiff-leg deadlifts can still be a viable addition to your workout, says Mens Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.

I like to think of it as an emergency hamstring exercise, Samuel says. If you are in a situation and you only have barbells or you only have dumbbells, and you don't have access to any of the other tools that can train your hamstrings, then maybe you're going to go to the stiff-leg deadlift, that way you can get that hamstring engagement."

The stiff leg deadlift doesn't allow you to work with a ton of weight and offers a more specific goaltargeting the hamstringsthan the conventional variation, so it doesn't really qualify as a go-to deadlift for everyone's routine. Samuel thinks of the movement as an "emergency exercise," to be employed when other hamstring focused movements aren't an option.

This is a good exercise for people who might struggle to find an exercise that allows them to feel hamstring engagement.

The stiff leg name is a bit of a misnomer. Your legs won't be completely locked throughout the movement, so don't make that a major cue. That said, you will be working from a position where your knees are more straight than during conventional deadlifts.

That's the primary difference between the two: with stiff leg deadlifts, your goal is to perform the move with as little knee bend as possible. Because you're working from a "stiffer" position, your hips will be working from a higher position, requiring your torso to become more parallel with the ground.

You'll see three results from this position:

The setup for the stiff leg deadlift is similar to what you'll do for a conventional deadlift.

There are several other hamstring exercises that may work better than stiff leg deadliftsSamuel mentions leg curls, Nordic curls, and even the conventional deadlift for most people. However, you can use this as an accessory exercise to get the hamstring engagement you might want.

Just make sure that you don't load up the bar with a ton of weight. Samuel suggests aiming for about half of what you'd use for your standard deadlift load (or even less). Since you're using lower weights, you can work with high reps and sets. Start at about three to four sets of eight to 10 reps. Make each rep slow and methodical, with a focus on pushing your butt back, bracing your core, and keeping your knees as stiff as possible.

Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, and Men's Health.

Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men's Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.

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How to Do the Stiff Leg Deadlift to Build Hamstring Strength - Men's Health

It turns out that spending more time with mans best friend at a young age can actually help decrease the risk of developing allergies to certain foods.

We already knew that kids who grow up in rural areas around animals have a decreased risk of allergies, said Allergist Dr. Troy Baker, with Kaiser Permanente in Virginia, but this new study shows that having a pet around, no matter the environment, can help decrease risk of developing certain food allergies as well.

A new international study out of Japan, involving more than 65,000 children, shows that kids exposed to household pets, such as cats and dogs, were less susceptible to having allergic reactions to eggs, nuts, wheat, and milk.

Having a pet in the home can actually change the microbiome in your gut, Baker said. This means that you develop new helpful bacteria that you otherwise wouldnt have been exposed to without a pet being present in the home.

He added, That can be more beneficial when were talking about less risk of allergies.

Early exposure is key. Baker said being around pets, even in the embryo state, could kickstart the immune system to develop this new helpful gut bacteria.

When is the crucial age for a child to be exposed?

If a mother is pregnant, and then the baby is born, all the way up until 3 years of age, Baker said.

Baker said there are exceptions to the rule, but that this new data is encouraging for all pet lovers out there. He said its something the scientific community will continue to look at, and is hopeful even more data about other decreased allergy risks associated with having pets can be brought to light in the future.

Read more:
Pets in the home can decrease food allergy risk for kids - WTOP

Maitree Baral | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on - Apr 24, 2023, 16:00 IST

"A silent heart attack is one where there are minimal symptoms if any suggesting a possible heart attack," says Dr. V. Rajasekhar, Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiology & Electrophysiology, Certified Proctor For TAVR & Clinical Director, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad.

"Also there may be symptoms that may seem innocuous and suggest an alternative diagnosis such as heartburn or indigestion," the expert adds.

A heart attack is called 'silent' when the classic signs of a heart attack like chest pain and pain in the arm and neck are not experienced by the individual.

Many people who have silent heart attacks do not experience the sign.

As per a 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and cited by Harvard Health, a follow up study on almost 2,000 people between 45 to 84 years old, who never had any cardiovascular disease, found that they had a heart attack in 10 years. These people had myocardial scars due to heart attacks.

"Most surprising was that 80% of these people were unaware of their condition. Overall, the prevalence of myocardial scars was five times higher in men than in women," the study found.

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"There is no way one can assess the risk of silent heart attack," explains Dr. V. Rajasekhar.

The risk factors for a silent heart attack are the same as for any heart attack such as: diabetes, hypertension, old age, smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, family history of heart disease, high cholesterol, says the expert and adds that older people especially those with diabetes tend to have silent attacks more often.

It is very important to identify the signs of heart attack so that one gets timely medical help which is extremely crucial to save one's life:

Signs like chest pain, discomfort in the chest, feeling weak, fainting, pain in jaw, neck or back, discomfort in arms and shoulders and difficulty in breathing are the classic signs of heart attack.

"Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain," the US CDC explains the nature of the chest pain during heart attack.

While the question seems elusive, the purpose of answering this is because it is a very commonly asked question.

The need of addressing this question is because the majority of heart attacks happen due to unhealthy lifestyle.

Lifestyle habits like less physical activity, random sleeping hours, smoking tobacco, binge drinking, not having sufficient nutritional foods, more dependency on food deliveries and takeaways, eating unhealthy oils and not screening health regularly gives scope to life threatening diseases to progress.

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Silent heart attack accounts for over 40% of heart attack cases; know what are the risk factors and signs - Times of India

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on - Apr 24, 2023, 14:00 IST

"XBB.1.16 has been reported in 31 countries," the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in the recent epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 20 April 2023.

The new recombinant variant accounts for 4.2% of the submitted sequences, the UN health agency has said.

XBB.1.16 is behind the current surge of COVID cases in India. A total of 7,178 new COVID cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate stands at 9.16%.

It is imperative to know the classic COVID symptoms in order to detect the infection early and get tested for it.

The common signs of COVID, as listed by ZOE Health Study which tracked COVID symptoms since the beginning of the pandemic, are: sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose, sneezing, cough without phlegm, headache, cough with phlegm, hoarse voice, muscle aches and pains, and an altered sense of smell.

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Apart from the classic signs of COVID which are similar to the symptoms shown by many of the upper respiratory tract infections, there were certain other symptoms of the infection experienced by people which were remotely related to the respiratory infection.

Symptoms like loose motion, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, rashes, dry mouth and back pain were seen in people during the second wave of COVID infection which was led by the Delta variant of the coronavirus; this wave is said to be the devastating wave of COVID and had originated in India.

Changes in skin color and texture seen in few COVID patients raised several questions around the nature of the virus. COVID toes, as they are popularly referred to, was seen in kids and young people mostly. It is discoloration of the toes and fingers along with itchiness, blisters and rough skin.

The impact of COVID on the brain health of an individual is not unknown now. Brain fog is a very common long COVID symptom and many people who had COVID have experienced it for weeks and months.

The occurrence of brain fog or confusion does not depend on the severity of the infection which means even those who had a mild COVID infection can be at a risk of it.

With the dominance of XBB.1.16 variant a new symptom, pink eye or conjunctivitis, is being seen in kids this time.

Conjunctivitis is remotely connected to COVID; though it is one of the many symptoms of COVID, the rate of incidence of this sign was not common in earlier waves of COVID.

Currently, health experts are urging people to get tested for COVID and for this knowing the signs of this infection is extremely infectious.

Newer variants of the coronavirus are emerging regularly and a big question is whether it increases the risk of severity.

"Due to its estimated growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, XBB.1.16 may spread globally and contribute to an increase in case incidence. However, at present, there is no early signal of an increase in severity," the WHO has said in a recent report.

Things people tend to ignore about cholesterol (and ways it puts us at risk)

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THESE were the most bizarre COVID symptoms people experienced - Indiatimes.com

2023-

Have you opened your windows and checked the weather? Its officially spring in Minnesota, and that means the start of race season. While many local Muslim girls want to play sports, the lack of modest, inclusive activewear can make it more challenging to participate.

Girls on the Run Minnesota aims to address that issue, recently donating pants, running shoes, andthanks to a partnership with Minneapolis-based, Muslim woman-owned business Kalsonisports hijabs to hundreds of local school-aged girls so they can participate in spring races. The season concludes with a non-competitive 5K at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on June 2. Other regional events include a 5K in Rochester on June 3 and in Duluth on June 4.

There has never been a greater need for the resources, lessons and activities that Girls on the Run provides, says Kathleen Cannon, executive director of Girls on the Run Minnesota, in a media release. The trauma and social isolation of the last few years have taken their toll on Minnesota girls. Thats one of many reasons were committed to helping girls connect with each other and with trusted adults through a fun, positive program that inspires them to move their bodies, express their feelings, and develop strong friendships.

Over the comings weeks, 175 teams of third- through eighth-grade girlsor more than 3,000 students and 700 volunteer coacheswill meet twice a week to inspire girls of all abilities to recognize their individual strengths while building a sense of connection in a team setting, according to the Girls on the Run website. And adequate activewear allows all students to confidently and safely train to race.

Volunteers from Marketing Lab and U.S. Bank helped deliver the items to over 100 schools..

We want everyone involved to feel a sense of belonging, to be part of the team, and to not have to worry about what theyre wearing, Cannon says.

For more information about Girls on the Run, visit girlsontherun.org.

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No Sweat: Inclusivity in Youth Girls' Sportswear - Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

Monday April 24 2023

Despite fasting during the Muslim holy month, Mariam stuck to her intense training for a weight lifting competition several months away

Guess my age? Mariam Gathuo asks after arriving two minutes late for our interview at the Alpha Fit Gym off Ngong Road.

Thirty-seven, I place a bet as we stride across the lawned front yard away from the gym noise for a spot to get candid.

The weight lifter is rocking a black hijab, an oversized white t-shirt branded Uzani Weight Lifting conceals her blue gym tights.

Her face glows like a molten iron rod even with the sweat dripping from her brow.

Mmh! Nice guess. I am actually 42, the mother of five says as we pick our spots under some shade.

Gathuo is training for a weightlifting competition Uzani Power Weekend 5 scheduled for August 19, 2023.

Its been a year since she started weightlifting. The happily divorced -as she puts it, is also a fitness instructor at Alpha Fit.

Mariam Gathuo performs the back squat during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

Despite the competition being miles away, Mariam's training schedule never stopped during the holy month of Ramadhan which came to an end last Friday.

Everybody else is training for the competition, why would I stop? Fasting can never be my excuse not to train or work out. Its all about how you fine-tune your mindset. Once I lock it, I am good to go she says.

I point out to her that staying away for a month to observe the holy month wouldnt do much damage considering the dates of the competition.

Read:From skinny to chiselled body in three monthsIts different with me, I have so much to prove. First I am a Muslim woman and as you know we face a lot of stigmatisation from society. Another reason is that I am a Master (40-year-old plus fitness gurus/athletes).

Mariam Gathuo, an Olympic weight-lifter, performs the clean jerk exercise during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

Most of her Muslim clients shunned the gym when Ramadhan began but she is now expecting them back much heavier than they left.

Ramadhan is the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar in which Muslims restrain themselves from food and drink from dawn to dusk.

The restrictions on eating and drinking during Ramadhan pose a challenge to Muslim athletes and those who keep fit if they want to continue pounding out the weights.

Mariam must eat her Suhoor (meal eaten early in the morning before dawn) before 5:45 am. Iftar (a meal taken at sundown to break the daily fast) comes nearly 13 hours later.

You must eat the right foods during Suhoor to sustain your body during the day. Another important measure is, you need to keep hydrating between Iftar and Suhoor because when you train during the day, you lose the water and wont be replenishing it anytime soon.

Mariam Gathuo, an Olympic weight-lifter, performs the weighted planks during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

During Ramadhan, her days began like any other, kicking the blanket at 3:55 am after six hours of sleep.

Immediately I wake up I drink a litre of lukewarm water to help cleanse my gut and replenish my electrolytes. At a quarter to five, I will do tea and bread, a meal I love so much. The most I can do is have leftovers, mostly when it's rice.

Mariam will then wait for the Alfajr prayers and by 5:30 am she is out of the house. It takes 30 minutes from where she resides to Alpha Fit situated at the tail end of Ligi Ndogo playing ground.

My first client always gets to the gym by 6 am.

She will see more clients up to around 11:30 am and then start her individual workouts which last for an hour or two.

Despite fasting, her sessions are always intense, especially when there is a competition involved such as the August one.

Mariam Gathuo, an Olympic weight-lifter during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

The first week of Ramadhan, you do moderation as your body adjusts to the unexpected stress its being subjected to. Once it settles in, you pick the rhythm and go hard.

During Iftar, Mariam will start again by hydrating and gulping half a litre of water.

Drinking that much water at ago makes one too full and unable to eat. I sip slowly, continuously over a period of time. This way, I drink up to a litre and a half and still eat.

Her balanced diet consists of a lot of vegetables.

Mariam Gathuo, an Olympic weight-lifter, performs the skipping rope exercise during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

Vegetables are very important because the body needs those vitamins more than anything to function so I consume a lot of those. Chicken, rice, ugali are also my favourites but I would also encourage people to eat lots of dates, for energy and fibre.

She has also been taking multivitamin supplements during Ramadhan to supplement those that are fetched from whole meals.

I used to belong to the school of thought that supplements are harmful and shouldnt be taken, but not anymore. If you are doing intense workouts your body will always be deficient in minerals and thats where supplements come in. Besides, how often do you eat chicken or meat, this is where supplements come in to ensure your body never lacks the required proteins and minerals.

The fitness instructor doesnt eat junk of any nature, not even in small quantities.

Those are toxins that will only ruin your body. There is an entire buffet of organic whole meals to choose from. There is also no such thing as cheat days, thats rubbish.

The sweat has now dried up and after 20 minutes of talking, Mariam shows the urge of going back to finish her sets.

Mariam Gathuo, an Olympic weight-lifter during her routine gym session at Alpha Fit GYM along Ngong Road, Nairobi on April 2023. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG

How did she start her fitness journey?

Do you work out? She catches me off-guard.

Of course, I do, albeit not as consistently as I should. I told her of how an ex-girlfriend dumped me because I was fat because I couldnt do many things and thats how I ended up paying for my first gym subscription.

Thats sad. My situation is different. Twelve years ago I fell ill and it was found out that I had a problem with my liver which ended up affecting my gall bladder and it had to be removed. To help me improve my health, exercise was then prescribed by the doctor and that marked my journey to fitness which was a struggle in the beginning.

When she gave birth to her firstborn daughter, now 21 years old, arthritis attacked her and exercise was prescribed.

tmatiko@ke.nationmedia.com

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Fasting: Workouts on empty - Business Daily