Health for Spartan Men

19/09/2020

19/09/2020

What at-home exercises can you do to stay fit if your local gym is closed??

19/09/2020

The shutdown is having a "devastating impact on the many thousands who serve in fitness, most of whom got into the industry because they believe in helping people lead healthier lives,'' the suit states.

An association of gym owners is suing Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County health officials, seeking paths to a return to indoor fitness and the relaxing of health orders aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus. The California Fitness Alliance believes that government should not continue...

12/08/2020

If you buy supplements on Amazon, be careful. We did an investigation and found that Amazon is awarding "Amazon's Choice" badges to products that do not contain their active ingredients, to products with majority unreliable reviews, and to products with misleading or NO ingredient labeling. Check this out for more:

We'll explain nine things that may indicate a company might not be honest or reliable. "Amazon's Choice" may not tell you much about quality.

18/07/2020

Men: I'm trying to drink less. A LOT less. As I get older I'm starting to worry that drinking 5 times a week is going to catch up to me, going to hit me like a bag of bricks once my metabolism really starts slowing down.

I started looking into Kava, maybe I would buy some of that to drink instead of beer. It's gotten trendy over the past few years, even with Kava 'bars' popping up in coastal cities. It's supposed to make you feel relaxed, kind of like Xanax or prescription painkillers. And there's science behind it—check out this study that strongly supports that it moderately elevates mood and subjective well-being: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9065962/

We wrote an article about it here: https://the-unwinder.com/reviews/best-kava

Unfortunately, the Kava marketplace is full of frauds and shady dealers who don't label their products very well. It took me a lot of time to find Kava sellers that were actually selling an accessible, trustworthy Kava. This one by Drink Root was my favorite, give it a shot if you're interested:

https://amzn.to/2WxZnSq

Premium Instant Kava Juice - Non-Micronized Pure Dehydrated Kava Juice Organic Kavain Heavy Blend - Anxiety Releasing and Euphoria Inducing Vanuatu Kava Tea" Connoisseur Blend" (Instant Tins, 25g)

18/07/2020

Men: are you into taking collagen for your skin? I started a few days ago. I'm getting old. Studies suggest that taking collagen can reduce wrinkles in your skin by 10% to 20%—by increasing skin volume and elasticity. Check this study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24401291/

One thing to know about collagen, though: the best placebo-controlled studies on collagen were done with a proprietary collagen called Verisol. In fact, Health Canada—the department of Canada’s government responsible for its health policy—has issued Verisol with a Natural Product Number (NPN), which they only give to products they’ve tested and found to be “safe, effective, and high quality.” Point is, if you're going to take collagen, find a collagen that uses Verisol.

If your interest is piqued, check out this collagen powder, made with Verisol: https://amzn.to/32wMRXh

(Yes, we realize this collagen is marketed toward women. Doesn't change that it's got good ingredients though)

18/07/2020

There are thousands of studies showing just how amazing vitamin D is. Let’s focus in on one.

This study by Dobnig et al found that elderly people with the highest levels of vitamin D lived the longest, and were the least likely to die from all causes.

The researchers specifically found a reduction in cardiovascular mortality. It didn’t look at cancer specifically, but other studies have shown that vitamin D reduces cancer risk.

It did look at health markers such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell adhesion. Vitamin D improved all of them.
Now, this study divided subjects into quartiles based on vitamin D levels. The top quartile, who were healthiest and lived the longest, only had an average blood level of 28 ng/ml.

Other studies have found optimal blood levels to be between 40 and 60 ng/ml, and there’s probably no downside to going as high as 80. So if anything, this study understated the importance of getting more vitamin D.

Here’s the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18574092/