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As enlightened employers look for ways to boost employees' health and well-being, a new kind of corporate culture is emerging, one that recognizes that healthy, happy employees, the kind who balance work with play and who nurture both their professional and personal passions, are more likely to make a company great—and to stick around for the long haul. A well-balanced employee is a more productive and profitable asset towards developing a successful business. The push for a more balanced workplace, says Tom Rath, a researcher who studies workplace well-being for Gallup, is motivated in part … [Read more...] about Yoga in the Workplace: What a great idea…..

  A balanced plant-based diet provides the same quality of fuel for athletes as a meat-based diet, provided vegetarians seek out other sources of certain nutrients that are more commonly found in animal products, according to a presentation at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Expo. The research was compiled by Dilip Ghosh, Ph.D., director of Nutriconnect in Sydney, Australia. He was unable to attend the meeting, so his presentation was given by Debasis Bagchi, Ph.D., director of innovation and clinical affairs at Iovate Health Sciences International … [Read more...] about Monitoring Nutrient Intake Can Help Vegetarian Athletes Stay Competitive

  With all the potential changes going on in the world of Healthcare, this article by Jaywon Choe talks about the questionable costs of various treatments. There seems to be quite a discrepancy as to the differences in price for various treatments. Most people would tend to think that treatment costs should be the same just like if you get an oil change for your car, it's the exact same service everywhere you go so the price should reflect that, yet it doesn't. A new report released by the federal government raises questions about how exactly hospitals determine the cost of treatment, … [Read more...] about New Report Shows Staggering Differences in the Cost of Medical Treatments.

As we are in the hottest part of the summer, many individuals are looking for the latest and newest ways to get fit in 2013. One of the newest forms of exercise is fusion classes. A swarm of new combo classessuch as Piloxing, aerial yoga, Core Fusion Barre, and Neuromuscular Integrative Action are designed to confuse more than just your tongue. By mixing workouts with disparate disciplines (think: Pilates + boxing, Zumba + water aerobics) they can get your body working in ways it wouldn’t otherwise, says Jessica Matthews, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise and certified … [Read more...] about New Fitness Trends to Watch for in 2013

Memory improves in older, overweight women after they lose weight by dieting, and their brain activity actually changes in the regions of the brain that are important for memory tasks, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Our findings suggest that obesity-associated impairments in memory function are reversible, adding incentive for weight loss," said lead author Andreas Pettersson, MD, a PhD student at Umea University, Umea, Sweden. Previous research has shown that obese people have impaired episodic memory, … [Read more...] about Weight Loss Improves Memory and Alters Brain Activity in Overweight Women

Controlling health care costs is crucial for Iowa manufacturers to remain competitive. But a big question for many companies is whether investing in an employee wellness program will cut costs and improve productivity. To help answer that question, a team of Iowa State University researchers is conducting a pilot program with three Iowa manufacturers. "All our evidence says there will be a net positive financial return for the companies," said Mike O'Donnell, program director for CIRAS, the Center for Industrial Research and Service at Iowa State. "While we're relatively sure helping … [Read more...] about Improving Overall Employee Wellness Could Yield Multiple Benefits

Wine has been described as the perfect beverage because the grapes contain all the ingredients necessary to create their transformation. Put grapes in a vat, and over time the yeasts coating the skins set alchemy in motion, converting the sugar in the juice into alcohol. Most adults tend to enjoy a glass or two of wine along with dinner or possibly afterwards as a way to relax. In this article by Eric Asimov, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to what is added to the wine to make it complete. It was just this sort of unbidden fermentation that inspired humans so long ago to spend … [Read more...] about If only grapes were the Whole story??

  Exercise obviously has many benefits for both male and female individuals. It lowers blood pressure, helps with prevention of diabetes, improves self-confidence and helps regulate hormone levels. In this latest article by Kathleen Doheny, there is a ton of research that shows how great exercise is for men specifically.  Men who are physically fit in middle age have a lower risk of developing and dying from certain cancers, new research indicates. "Fitness is a huge predictor of [cancer] risk," said Dr. Susan Lakoski, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of … [Read more...] about Fitness in Middle Age May Help Shield Men From Cancer Later