Healthy Life


The Feel Good Report: August

The latest in health, fitness and beauty

BY August 29, 2014

SUNGLASSES THAT PRODUCE HAPPINESS

Sunglasses make you look cool. It’s just a matter of fact. But new lens technology has been developed that will actually make you feel cool. Happy, to be more accurate. Spy Optics has developed a lens that blocks short-wave blue light. However, those same lenses allow long-wave blue light, which studies suggest might actually be beneficial to us. It promotes balance in the body, uplifting feelings and happiness. That explains why the company has named it the Happy Lens. In addition, the lens also creates spectacular color enhancing and color contrasting that you can experience the second you put them on. We’ve been wearing them for a week and can recommend them highly. Do they make us happy? Well, that’s hard to say, but this is for sure: When we take them off, we get depressed. spyoptics.com

 

THE 20-MINUTE-A-WEEK WORKOUT

We’ve told you time and time again that you don’t need to spend hours in the gym each week to be fit. Science has proven that if you’re efficient, you can cut your workout down to just minutes. And a fitness facility in Naples, Concept 10 10, has taken that theory and run with it. The Concept 10 10 people say that it’s a high-intensity, totally supervised workout that takes just 20 minutes each week to be effective. You schedule your appointment and it’s just you and the trainer. The hook seems to be that you’re lifting slowly—up for 10 seconds and down for 10 seconds—on weights that will bring you to exhaustion within 1.5 and 2.5 minutes. concept1010naples.com

 

+PROTEIN AND MORE PROTEIN Scientists reviewed past studies and found that each increase of 20 grams of protein per day lowers the risk of stroke by 26 percent. However, those numbers do not pertain to red meat protein, just chicken, fish or legumes.

 

PERSONAL TRAINER APP

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to have a personal trainer, you know that they are the worst people on Earth. They yell at you and tell you to “keep going” and “push harder” even though you’re paying them handsomely. Jerks. Well, there is a new app that allows you to say “sayonara” to those trainers: the Olympus personal trainer app, from Naples-based Olympus Health Sciences. The interactive workout takes you through four new personal training sessions each week, guiding you at your own pace so you never fall behind. It can even offer modifications to accommodate for your personal abilities. Best of all, it’s available to train you at any time of the day, any day of the week. The app is so hot it ranked as the No. 1 iPhone app in iTunes for “workout videos.” You can try it free for two weeks. After that, training costs $6.99 a month. olympustrainer.com

 

TEST REVEALING MORE ABOUT UNBORN BABIES

A new blood test recently became available to expectant mothers allowing them to learn the chromosomal makeup and sex of their unborn babies at just nine weeks. This test, the Panorama prenatal test, is more accurate than ultrasound scanning and is big news because it also helps detect chromosomal abnormalities significantly earlier than in the past. Best of all, it is completely noninvasive, as it requires just a blood sample from mom to find the baby’s DNA and chromosomes that are responsible for things such as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome or Patua syndrome. Results are turned around in seven to 10 days. Locally, Dr. Blane Crandall, chairman of the Department of OB/GYN at Naples Community Hospital, offers the test. drblanecrandall.com

 

TENNIS RACQUET THAT TELLS HOW YOU’RE DOING

If you’re obsessed with tennis, we have a new racquet that will send you over the edge. The Babolat Play Pure Drive is a new racquet that features built-in accelerometer and gyroscope that create data that can then be analyzed on a computer, tablet or smartphone. The data includes where the ball strikes the racquet, service percentages, power and type of stroke. It looks and feels just like any other high-end racquet except it has two buttons and a USB port built into the handle. The battery allows for six hours of playing time, and its memory can hold 150 hours worth of data. Experts are calling it a game-changer. babolat.com

 

Related Images: