/ Wellness Watch, January 2015

by Neera Chaudhary

Wellness Watch, January 2015

Dec 19, 2014

Pistachio Power

Diet and exercise changes can help lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and new research suggests eating pistachios may help lower blood sugar and insulin levels while reversing some indicators of prediabetes.

The study, published in Diabetes Care, a scientific journal of the American Diabetes Association, suggests that pistachios may have glucose- and insulin-lowering effects and promote a healthier metabolic profile in people with prediabetes. The protein, healthy fats and fiber in pistachios may help lower blood glucose. The findings of this study add to the body of literature on the health benefits of nuts in general, and pistachios in particular.

Wobble On

A full-on stability ball as a desk chair might not be practical in your office but we’ve found something that will do the trick. The Wobble — otherwise known as balance cushions or balance discs — are inflatable round cushions you place on a seat that are strong enough to stand or sit on.

The Wobble by FitBall ($32.95 CDN) is an inflatable, 15-inch, dome-shaped disc that offers the same kind of resistance as a regular FitBall, allowing you to increase or decrease the inflation to vary the resistance level.

These cushions help strengthen your core muscles, exercise your legs and improve balance. The Wobble can also be used as an everyday cushion to alongside other key vitals like blood pressure, weight and heart rate.

Ginger Shot

Juice shots like ginger and wheatgrass are a popular way to get the nutrient benefits of juicing in a concentrated form.

The classic ginger shot is simply cold pressed ginger and it has a warming and stimulating effect. A ramped up ginger shot includes lemon and cayenne and is often used for cleanses and detoxing regimens.

Ginger and lemon help support good digestion and boost immunity and metabolism. Both these rockstar ingredients are anti-nauseants and have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Cayenne also contains compounds like capsaicin that help reduce inflammation.

We are digging the Ginger Fireball ($8 CDN) by Juice Press that contains orange and lemon juice, ginger, cayenne extract, colloidal silver and oil of oregano. Kick back a shot of this hot and spicy immune booster to get you warmed up and fighting cold and flu season.

Get an Edge

The new iHealth Edge ($69.99 CDN) activity and sleep tracker is ergonomically designed and powerful. In addition to tracking steps, distance and sleep efficiency, the tracker gives you an edge by instantly displaying your time, number of steps, distance and calories burned, with a simple flick of the wrist.

The Edge is waterproof to 50 meters and the built-in dual mode gives you the option to wear the device on the wrist as a watch or clipped to your waist.

The Edge also automatically detects activity, allowing users to seamlessly switch between form factors, and when it’s time to rest, it automatically detects sleep and switches to sleep mode, tracking the number of hours you sleep and your sleep efficiency levels. Once the day gets started, the device automatically wakes up and begins tracking steps and distance.

All your data can be transmitted directly to your mobile device using the app. Daily activity and sleep efficiency are automatically logged and graphed in the app, which can also collect data from the other iHealth devices so you can view this data alongside other key vitals like blood pressure, weight and heart rate.

BY: NEERA CHAUDHARY / HEALTH & WELLNESS EDITOR
PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2015/THE MOVIE ISSUE

Neera Chaudhary

Author

Neera Chaudhary is always on the lookout for the veritable wellness ingredients to feed your mind, body and soul because she knows beauty starts from the inside out. Neera helps to make sense of the science behind the plethora of prescriptions out there by sharing the essential elements for a heal...