Glute Activation, Lowering Heart Disease, and Avoiding Bananas

Nutrition Corner

Mediterranean diet with a dairy twist shows promise in lowering heart disease risk

Here's why you probably shouldn't add bananas to your smoothie

Recipe for The Day

Keto Zucchini Noodles With Bacon Vinaigrette: Those who are following the Keto diet often have to kiss their love of pasta goodbye. But while they may not be able to eat a ton of regular noodles, zucchini noodles are a helpful replacement for some classic pasta-heavy recipes.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

Top 3 Supplements To Release & Increase Endorphins

• Nooceptin: Nooceptin can really help sharpen your mind and clear away any brain fog. It's an all-natural booster that helps your brain work better, improves your memory, and motivates you to keep going.

• Vyvamind: VyvaMind is a cool choice for people looking to try nootropics or get a little mood lift with a dash of energy.

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These 6 Healthy Foods Can Help Lower Heart Disease Risk, New Study Shows

• Fruit: The PURE healthy eating pattern study recommends two to three servings of fruit a day for lower heart disease risk. Not only is fruit good for your heart, but the fiber-packed food also supports your gut health and its antioxidants may protect against certain cancers.

• Vegetables: This shouldn't be a surprise, but in case you needed more confirmation: vegetables are entirely beneficial for your heart health because they help regulate blood sugar and blood pressure levels. The study recommends consuming two to three servings of veggies a day, which can also help with reducing inflammation and strengthening your immune system.

• Legumes: "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart" wasn't just a catchy tune. Including three to four servings of beans and legumes in your weekly eating plan is suggested by the new heart-healthy study.

• Nuts: Nuts are a great source of protein and antioxidants. Plus, they're great for your heart and digestive system, and eating nuts every day can help with weight loss, if that is your goal.

• Fish: If you're looking for a lean protein that can help your heart, fish is the way to go. Not only is omega-3-rich fatty fish great for reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease, but eating just two to three servings a week can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and improve cognitive function.

• Whole-Fat Dairy: This might be the most surprising of the bunch, but this new study—supported by a companion study released by the European Society of Cardiology—recommends that eating or drinking 14 servings of whole-fat dairy a week can help support heart health and decrease the risk of heart disease.

5 Ways To Reduce Body Fat

• Eat More Good Fats: Instead of eating a low-fat diet, focus on eating beneficial “good” fats like polyunsaturated fats and limiting harmful “bad” fats like trans fats.

• Watch What You Drink: High-calorie sodas, alcohol and other highly sweetened liquids can account for up to 30% of a person’s daily caloric intake, and they often contain high-fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to fatty liver disease and other diseases in the human body.

• Pump Up the Protein: Diets high in quality proteins can help you lose body fat by promoting satiation (the feeling of fullness), helping you retain muscle mass while losing body fat and increasing diet-induced thermogenesis (the burning of calories from digestion).

• Supplement With Ferments and Vinegar: A healthy gut microbiome is a critical link in healthfully losing body fat and keeping it off. Eating naturally fermented foods like pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and yogurt populates the gut with healthful bacteria and supplies the substrates they need to thrive.

• Add Strength Training: Diet is a huge part of fat loss, but exercise is just as vital. And when it comes to optimizing fat loss, you want to pick up some weights.

6 Best Glute Activation Exercises

• Glute Bridge Exercise: The glute bridge is a classic bodyweight exercise you'll find in tons of workout styles, from Pilates to yoga and functional fitness. To use this as a glute activation exercise, you don't need any equipment, but if you want to take this one up a notch, you can also try weighted glute bridges.

• Fire Hydrant: One of the most important jobs your glutes do is leg abduction (i.e., moving your legs out to the sides). This glute activation exercise ensures you prime your butt muscles for that action, which comes in handy if you're doing an activity with side-to-side movements, like tennis or pickleball.

• Donkey Kicks: Another important movement your glutes do? Pull your legs backward. You can accomplish this movement — and thus activate your glutes — by doing a move like a donkey kick (shown here) or kickback.

• Lateral Band Walks: If you don't have a small-loop resistance band (aka a miniband), you can do this glute activation exercise with just your bodyweight. Either way, don't step your feet completely together as you walk; keep them slightly apart so your glute muscles remain engaged.

• Single-Leg Bridges: If you're a beginner to glute activation exercises, this one might be difficult, and that's OK. To modify, instead of lifting your foot all the way up, just lift onto your toes; the majority of the work should still be happening in the other leg.

• Marching Bridge: The marching glute bridge is a great way to prepare your glute muscles for the more advanced single-leg glute bridge and also fire up your core and hip flexors. Take this one nice and slow; don't try to rush through the reps.