Health and Fitness Articles From around the Web - Diary of a Pole Addict

A collection of health and fitness articles from around
the web!

What is this website? We're here to share our fitness funnies, adventures and to
fundraise money for Oxfam - click here for more information!

The articles on this page are shrouded in my own opinion of them. Whilst trying to be fair I'm also trying to workout what it is the article is actually saying.

Comments here are always welcome! So far we've covered the role of porn in the brain, female fertility, red meat, housework and whether mens faces are made for smacking.

If you like this but need a giggle check out my blog for a dose of fitness humour and the occasional existential crisis!

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Wednesday 17th July - Here Comes The Sun

17/7/2014

Heatwave health warning as Britons told to stay indoors via The Telegraph

Ah, I love Britain. I guess it's weather is largely like it's population, scatty and at one extreme or the other :P

So, it's hot here. It's REALLY hot here. At the moment the temperature where I'm sitting is registering at 23degrees C. In the shade.

Wearing all black today probably wasn't going to be the best choice of the day, especially given that...

Tuesday 15th July - 10 Popular Scientific Misconceptions

15/7/2014

'Common Science Myths That Most People Believe' via IFLscience

From using 10% of our brains, to lightning never striking the same place twice there are lots of interesting misconceptions out there.

My favourite, which hasn't been mentioned here is...

Friday 11th July - Weight Loss Ops for Diabetics. A Good Idea or a Lack of Accountability?

11/7/2014

"More weight loss operations for diabetes" via BBC news

TL;DR - The NHS spends 10% of its budget on diabetes. NICE is suggesting we operate on overweight people to lower this cost.

I don't know how you feel about this. To be quite honest, it makes me sort of cross.

Knee-jerk reaction maybe...

Wednesday 9th July - How Many Times Have YOU Licked A Battery?

9/7/2014

"Idle minds succumb to temptation of electric shocks" via New Scientist

Would you rather be in your own world? Or would you do anything to avoid it?

TL;DR - people would rather give themselves an electric shock than just sit still and do nothing.

This lab study shows that people would..

Monday 7th July - Man Up...Why Do You Need Testosterone?

7/7/2014

"Man up: Is testosterone an elixir of youth?" via New Scientist

TL;DR - men with flagging testosterone levels may be better skipping the supplements.

This article looks at the effects of testosterone on the body, and the effects of testosterone supplements.

Socially testosterone is seen as the MAN hormone. Its effects encapsulate the
"male" attributes - strength, virility, aggression but actually, a lot of men are supplementing their bodies with the hormone when actually, it might not be at all necessary to do so.

Wednesday 2nd July - Running Cures Blindness....in Mice

2/7/2014

"Running Cures Blindness In Mice" via IFLscience

TL;DR - running whilst looking at stuff promotes activity in the visual cortex (the bit of the brain which organises sight).

Basically, if animals have limited sight in one eye from birth (in the case of these mice they had their one eye covered up) then the corresponding part of the brain has less neural activity.

Tuesday 1st July - We've Convinced Cells to Switch On....!

1/7/2014

"Human Gut Cells Coaxed Into Producing Insulin" via IFL science

Wow. Reading the original article from Nature Communications.....wow.

TL;DR - scientists have worked out which gene to switch on/off to make normal gut cells produce insulin.

So, a bit of info: insulin is usually produced from the pancreatic cells and it regluates the metabolism of carbohydrates (sugars) and fats.

Monday 30th June - Tut Tut Facebook

30/6/2014

"Facebook emotion experiment sparks criticism" via BBC
news

TL;DR Facebook messed about with some peoples feeds a couple of years ago and now people are pissed.

Sorry. Am I being a wee bit judgemental?

It's easier when you simplify things right down to the very basics, but in reality, it's rarely ever that simple.

Friday 27th June - Why Do Good People Do Bad Things?

27/6/2014

'He saved my life that night' via BBC
news

Sometimes it's all to easy to judge someone.

Take the first case of the delinquent teenager. How easy is it to pass off as just a "bad person"? How easy is it just to label him as a troublemaker for no other reason than boredom?

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone illegal behaviour but I'm keen to explore the reasons behind WHY people indulge in such behaviour.

It's easy to pass psychologists off as

Thursday 26th June - Omnomnom Luis

26/6/2014

"What's eating Luis Suarez: the psychology of biting" via New Scientist

Sorry all, but I had to. The World Cup is pervasive enough, but as a psychologist this is just downright fascinating.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge football fan. I'll watch it if it's on and being a teacher it's usually good to keep relatively up to date so you can keep up with the students, the theatrics are always good to watch but I wouldn't replace another activity with football, nor do I actively seek games.

That being said...