We all know sugar’s bad for us. Makes you fat, causes dental problems and diabetes. You may or may not know that it could be more of a villain than saturated fat when it comes to heart disease. But I bet you didn’t know it can ruin your love life!

A recent study indicates that excessive levels of glucose and fructose (forms of sugar) in the blood can disable the gene that controls your sex hormones. The research, reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) gene gets deactivated when the liver processes glucose and fructose.

So, no SHBG, no (or low) sex hormones - which can cause low libido or impotence in men and a myriad of problems, including uterine cancer, in women. Which gives us all one more reason to avoid sugar. If you’re thinking that you’ll just replace it with artificial sweeteners, I urge you to think again. There’s really not enough room here to go into specifics regarding the various artificial sweeteners, so just pop the name of your sweetener of choice into your favorite search engine and you’ll see why.

And avoiding sugar means also avoiding high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which has pretty much replaced sugar in processed foods because it’s cheaper, but is implicated in a host of health problems including obesity, as it appears to turn off the satiety signal, causing people to eat more and more.

Two sweeteners that appear to be ok in moderation are the herb stevia and the sugar alcohol xylitol. Both have less of an effect on the body’s blood sugar level than regular sugar, and according to research, xylitol actually combats tooth decay. Not just doesn’t cause it, but actually fights it! Still, use these in moderation if at all.

Basically, if you want a sweet treat that’s healthy, I’d advise sticking to fruit. Just don’t go crazy, because fructose is what makes fruit sweet, and as we saw earlier, too much of that is just as bad as too much glucose, which is table sugar. Luckily, fiber in fruit usually serves to slow the rate of blood sugar rise that occurs after eating it, as long as you eat small to moderate amounts - enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, not enough to put you to sleep or get you bouncing off the walls.

Technorati Tags: sugar, glucose, fructose, diabetes, obesity, sex, sex hormones, libido, stevia, xylitol, diabetes, heart disease, sex hormone

Most people, even those that work out regularly, would be hard pressed to do a single one leg squat, sometimes referred to as a “pistol”. This guy has definitely taken it to the next level. Have a look.

Like I said, amazing!

Technorati Tags: one leg squat, 1 leg squat, squat, deep knee bend, leg exercise, standing jump, strength training, fitness, exercise

Most people are afraid they’ll gain weight if they quit smoking, but that doesn’t have to happen to you - just follow these simple tips and you can double your health benefits by quitting smoking and avoiding weight gain at the same time.

The majority of quitting smokers feel the need to have something in their mouth. Don’t succumb to the urge to just grab some fast food or junk food snacks. Instead, choose healthy foods like low-fat protein sources or fruits and vegetables. Occasionally some sugar-free candy or gum is ok.

If you feel the need to have something in your hands, play around with something like a paper clip or pencil rather than resorting to snacks like chips or chocolate bars.

Drinking lots of water can be a great solution to the need to put something in your mouth.

Exercise will make you feel better, keep you busy, and reduce stress. You don’t have to limit yourself to activities like jogging or strength training. Take up a new sport!

You can also keep yourself occupied with hobbies like crossword puzzles or knitting, or you can read a book or magazine.

One final tip that works great for people trying to quit smoking AND people who want to eat less - brush your teeth frequently. If you have a clean, fresh taste in your mouth, you’ll probably hesitate to ruin it by eating or smoking.

Quitting smoking is probably the best thing you can do for your helath. Don’t let the fear of putting on a few pounds hold you back from doing it.

Technorati Tags: smoking, quit smoking, weight gain, weight loss, health, stop smoking

Just in case you haven’t heard, Nintendo is releasing their Wii Fit exercise game in the US this week. The software has already been released in Japan and has been a raging success. The key to the Wii Fit experience is what’s called a “balance board”. It’s about the size of two bathroom scales joined together. Supposedly, the idea for the balance board came from watching Sumo wrestlers being weighed. As you might expect, they’re too heavy and too big to stand on a typical scale. So they usually put two scales together and place one foot on each.

The user does most of the exercises on the board, either with their feet or (in the case of an exercise like pushups) their hands. The Wii Fit also accomodates jogging, which you do with the regular Wiimote (Wii remote) in your pocket. You can jog in place or run around your living room - but you need to be careful not to stray out of the remote’s range. The game judges users by whether or not they have an acceptable BMI (body mass index). However, the American version is more tactful than the Japanese, which tells overweight users “you’re fat”!

So how does the Wii Fit do at getting people into shape? Well, from the reviews that have already come in, it looks like it won’t replace a personal trainer any time soon, but it does seem to be a viable option for people who prefer to work out at home, or even gym goers who might want the occasional change of pace. However, that all assumes you actually have a Wii to hook the Wii Fit up to. Unbelievably, even a year and a half after the Wii was introduced to the USA, they are still in short supply. It’s not likely you’ll just sashay into your local store and pick one up off the shelf. You’re going to have to be creative. When retailers feature one in their ads, the line usually starts to form a couple of hours before the store opens on the day the ad begins. So one option is to be the early bird. Another tactic is to buy online. There are a lot of Wiis available on ebay, but you’ll likely pay more than list price. You can also find Wiis off and on at online stores like circuitcity.com or toysrus.com. The catch is that when you do find a place that has stock, you’ll most likely have to buy a “bundle”, which includes games you may or may not want in addition to the Wii console.

All in all, I think this is a great idea. Anything that gets couch potatoes up and moving has my vote. The Wii Sports games that come with the Wii were an excellent first step in this direction, and the Wii Fit takes it to the next level.

Technorati Tags: Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit, fitness, Wii available