Blog - Page 22 of 26 - Dan Hammer Health LTD

Posted by Dan Hammer //

10/01/2016

Thermography is using thermal infrared imaging to detect health concerns like breast cancer. Here’s the background on how this works.

In 400 BC the Greek physician Hippocrates wrote “In whatever part of the body excess of heat or cold is felt, the disease is there to be discovered.”

Temperature has long been established as a health indicator. It’s why when you see a doctor the nurse will do three things:

take your blood pressure,
take your heart rate,
and take your temperature.

If your temperature is elevated, then there’s a health concern that something is going on in your body that needs to be addressed. But for some reason that same application is not applied to looking at a thermal scan of your body, which is what thermography does.

What the Heck is The Microbiome

Posted by Dan Hammer //

09/22/2016

Over the next couple of months I’ll be doing a series of posts on The Microbiome. And the reason why is emerging science is clearly identifying how significant the microbiome is to your overall health and the prevention of disease.

Here’s a quick definition of the microbiome as state by Katie Johnson:

“The human microbiome is a diverse array of microorganisms that populate the intestinal tract and can include bacteria, parasites, and yeasts.”

Now you might be thinking that this really doesn’t play a significant role in your health. Well consider this fact:

On a cellular level, bacteria outnumber us by a 10 to 1 ratio.

What the Heck is Legs Up The Wall

Posted by Dan Hammer //

09/15/2016

I want to thank Dr. Debbie Powers, Assistant Professor Emerita of Wellness at Ball State University, for turning me on to Legs Up The Wall. I’m not a yoga person but as you can see by the picture you don’t have to be into yoga to practice this position.

All you need is a wall. Any wall will do. You can even use a door. Just make sure it’s closed so that the pressure you place on the door doesn’t cause it to open unexpectedly.

This restorative pose is great for relaxation and circulation. And it can benefit anyone.

Fat Burning Exercises – Part Two

Posted by Dan Hammer //

09/08/2016

In part one of this series on fat burning exercises we established that the amount of extra calories burned, by adding muscle to your body, is not as great as the internet and TV infomercials would have you believe.

The goal of this post is to help you see how the designed of your exercise program can significantly impact your caloric expenditure. And, what you eat and drink before and after you exercise also significantly impacts your fat burning ability.

Now the first place to start is in making a decision about the type of exercise program you’re going to follow.

Aerobic versus Anaerobic Exercise for Fat Burning!

Let’s make this as simple as possible. Fat burning exercises will either be

aerobic in design to strengthen the cardiovascular system

anaerobic in design to strengthen and build muscle tissue

or a combination of both.

Aerobic exercises use oxygen to create energy. The primary fuel source is free fatty acids which yield large amounts of energy.

Anaerobic exercises create energy without the use of oxygen. The primary fuel source is glycogen or blood glucose.

Fat Burning Exercises – Part One

Posted by Dan Hammer //

09/01/2016

There is a lot of information about fat burning exercises on the internet. Unfortunately, most of the information is a bit misleading. Typically, the information centers on whether you should be doing aerobic exercise to effectively burn your fat stores or whether you should be building muscle tissue to increase your metabolism to burn your extra fat! The following quote from Adam Zickerman, author of Power of 10: The Once-a-Week Slow Motion Fitness Revolution provides a good example of this:

“Three extra pounds of lean muscle burns about 10,000 extra calories a month. (It) burns as many calories as running 25 miles a week, or doing 25 aerobic workouts a month without leaving your couch.”

This information, if accurate, would lead you to believe that all you have to do to lose body fat is put on an extra three pounds of lean muscle. No need to pound the pavement or treadmill or go to your aerobic class. Just workout with weights until you have gained those three pounds of muscle and you are set for life!

The MIND Diet for Cognitive Protection

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/22/2016

Have you ever heard of the MIND Diet? I hadn’t until I saw this headline:

“New Research Shows MIND Diet Keeps Brains 7.5 Years Younger”

Now who wouldn’t want a diet that would help them keep their brain younger. Well, MIND is short for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Its a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH eating plan designed to control blood pressure. It was developed by the nutritional epidemiologists at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.

Before I share with you the results of their study, here is a brief summary of the MIND diet:

Summer Hydration – The Big 6

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/15/2016

Proper hydration is always a key ingredient to good health and summer hydration is even more important. I live in the Chicago area and this summer has been the hottest in the last 3 years. For the month of August we’re averaging 6 degrees above our normal temperature.

With higher temperatures you’re going to perspire more. If you’re not replacing this lost water, then your going to suffer some dehydration symptoms.

Especially when its estimated that 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

Mild dehydration can trigger the following symptoms:

The Original Whole30 Program

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/08/2016

I had a potential new client call me the other day to talk about his health. I’m not going to go into detail except to say this:

At 5′ 6” he weighed 300 pounds and he made a comment on why God would allow us to suffer poor health.

As soon as his words came out of his mouth I thought of Caleb from the Old Testament. How at the age of 84 he was just as healthy as he was at age 40.

What was Caleb’s secret? His diet.

Which brings me to the “Original Whole30 Program.”

Four Metrics to Healthy Living

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/01/2016

There are four metrics to healthy living. But before we look at these metrics you need to understand the growing trend that’s beginning to wreck havoc on our overall well being. It’s obesity and overweight issues that lead to metabolic syndrome health issues like diabetes and heart disease.

Currently, of the five billion adults living on the planet Earth, one in eight are clinically obese.

When you do the math that 625 million people.

And a fifth of these obese adults live in six high-income countries: United States, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Currently, the United States government estimates that more people die of too much food than too little.

A Primer on Strawberry Nutrition!

Posted by Dan Hammer //

07/22/2016

Strawberries have long been the most popular fruit and now strawberry nutrition is becoming just as famous. With over 600 varieties, this fruity, heart-shaped valentine does more than just promote love. It promotes health!

Because of its high ORAC value and nutritional density, I use strawberries as one of my ingredients in my ORAC Salad and ORAC Shake. Here’s a brief overview of their health benefits and why it’s important to include strawberries in your diet: