What is a Pine Tar?

There are a lot of talk about Pine Tar because of New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda who uses it to have a better grip of the ball when pitching. He put the Pine Tar at the right side of his neck and got caught and was ejected from the game which the Red Sox won 5-1.

Pine tar is a very sticky substance that is created from pine wood. Heat and pressure is applied to the wood to produce pine tar.

It is widely use in baseball, to have better grip of the ball when pitching and is applied to the handles of baseball bats also for better grip. It prevents the bat from slipping when you are hitting hard swings.

Based on the 2002 Official Rules of Major League Baseball the batter may use pine tar only from the handle of the bat extending up for 18 inches only. However, it is illegal if you use it on the ball since the MLB Official Rules stated that any foreign substance to a ball is expressly prohibited.

It seems Michael Pineda is not a fan of the MLB Official Rule book.

Kale is Good for you!

Kale (borecole) is a very nutritious vegetable that has a green or sometimes purple leaves. Kale tastes better when frozen, it is a lot sweeter and more flavorful if it is frozen.

A lot of health experts are a fan of Kale with its healthy properties. Kale packed with high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, Vitamine A, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and rich in calcium. Kale is also a source of two carotenoids namely lutein and zeaxanthin.

Just like broccoli, kale has sulforaphane that is a potent chemical with anti-cancer properties.

It has high concentration of Vitamin C that boost collagen and copper which has a good anti-inflammatory properties to protect your skin from the sun. The Vitamin A in Kale promotes healthy cell growth to keep your skin young and fresh.

Kale is packed with both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, this acids keeps your scalp and hair moisturized that keeps you from having flakes and brittle hair. It also helps in the circulation of blood in your scalp that promotes hair growth.

Don't Have Enough Time to Work-out? Then Why not Do it for just 30 min a Week

Do you work from 9-5, and have lots of things to do after work like taking care of your kids,  meaning you don't have time to exercise on a regular basis. What if I told you that you can do it for just 30 minutes a week?

Researchers found out that a 10-minute exercise 3 times a week can make you fit. Now you have no excuse not to work-out. They found out that working for long hours is not what matters most but how you exercise. You need to push yourself to your limits for you to succeed. It is called High Intensity Training (HIT), you need to exert all your efforts in short bursts that lasts for only a few minutes but can give you a lot of benefits like weight loss and toned muscles.

University of Ontario researchers study 10 men and 10 women and divide the into half to perform High Intensity Training (HIT) which is 6 bursts of 30-second sprints and the other half to do the hour-long runs three times a week for six weeks. The results was outstanding, the people who performed HIT lose twice as much weight as the others who are doing the regular long-hours workout. The lost an 12.4% of their fat mass for just a little time.

So how do you do High Intensity Training (HIT)? The ideal set-up is three times a week that includes walking, running, and cycling for 10 minutes. Combined that with squats and lunges that concentrates on large muscle groups. This will give you metabolism-boosting effect that will burn significant amouth of calories. It will also induce catecholamines and growth hormone in the blood that will hasten the loss of fatty tissues.

Here are Great High Intensity Training (HIT) that you can follow:

40 seconds hard exercise - you will need to push your limit for two brief 20-second bursts. You can do cycling, sprinting, or swimming. If you choose cycling, you can do it indoors using a stationary bike just increase the intensity or if you prefer outdoors do it up-hill.

- start out normally for a few minutes then when you are ready go in full speed with all your might for 20 seconds.
- Slow down to recover for a few minutes then speed up again in full for another 20 seconds. All in all it will only cost you about 10 minutes to do this exercise. Do it three times a week and you will see results.





   

Cholesterol-lowering that Helps Erectile Dysfunction

Good news for older men who are taking cholesterol-lowering medicine. Statin helps lower bad cholesterol level in patient’s blood. It is given to patients to help prevent stroke and heart attack. A new study by researchers of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School shows that statin medication not just lower cholesterol but also improves a man's erectile function. Their findings are posted on the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session and in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The head of the research John B. Kostis, MD, professor of medicine, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said: "Older men who have poor cardiovascular health, diabetes or metabolic syndrome often experience erectile dysfunction and the prevalence of these diseases is expected to increase."

"Our research indicates that statins not only improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, but also improve erectile function in the men included in our analysis."

Taking statin after a cardiovascular disease is detected on patient may offer early benefits in addition to improved sexual function. However, he also warns not to take statin for erectile dysfunction alone. More study is needed to determine the link between statin therapy and the improvement of erectile function.

Expert Said Drinking Water Don't Help Weight loss

A professor from University of Alabama in Birmingham said that drinking water is not the  “magic bullet” for losing weight.

Beth Kitchin, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor of nutrition sciences said that “There's a very little evidence that drinking water can bolster weight loss; it is one of those self-perpetuating myths.” However, she did not claim that drinking water is not good for you, but there are not enough study that show people who drank water burned calories as a result.

The recommended drinking 250ml glasses of water per day is also a myth.

“Yes, people do need to get fluids; but it does not have to be water,” Kitchin said. “There’s no evidence that it melts away fat or makes you feel fuller, so if you don’t like water it’s OK.”

She also said that water remains the best way to keep hydrated, however, you can also get your fluid from other flovered beverages like juice, tea, coffee or colas.

“People think coffee doesn’t count, but actually it does,” she said. “When you drink coffee, your body is retaining much of that fluid especially for people who are habituated to drinking caffeine, as the body adapts, resulting in a reduced loss of fluids.”

Drinking cold water burn more calories because the body will work double time to raise its temparature is also a myth.

"You will hear that ice-cold water helps burn extra calories." "While there may be a few extra calories lost, it won’t be nearly enough to make a dent in your weight-loss endeavors."

If you want to lose weight, she recommends a long-running, research-based weight management programme like EatRight by UAB or Volumetrics.

Breastfeeding your baby for above 2 years may lead to infant tooth decay

Breastfeeding has its benefits but overdoing it may also be bad for your baby, it may post a higher risk of cavities in baby's first teeth.

A new scientific study said that about 48% of babies who were breastfed beyond 24 months have developed infant tooth decay. It is because the baby’s teeth are confined while it is breastfeeding, this prevents saliva from breaking down bacteria for extended periods of time.

This is due to the fact that a baby’s teeth are sealed off while it is breastfeeding, which prevents saliva from breaking down bacteria for extended periods of time.

Benjamin Chaffee the leading researcher from University of California, San Francisco said,

"The top priority for the breastfeeding mother is to make sure that her child is getting optimal nutrition." "Our study does not suggest that breastfeeding causes caries."

Chaffee and his team studied a possible link between longer breastfeeding and the risk of tooth decay and cavities using 458 babies in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The babies are from low-income families and most of the babies were old enough to begin eating sold foods, but they were still being breastfed by their mothers. The team studied the babies when they were about 6, 12, and 38 months old.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that mothers to breast fed their babies for the first 6 months, then add solid foods to the diet after. However, they also recommends continued breastfeeding up to age two and beyond.

The team found out that about 40% of the babies breastfed between ages 6 and 24 months had developed some tooth decay by the end of the study. For babies breastfed for longer than 24 months and frequently, that number rose to 48%.

Although breastfeeding may cause tooth decay in children, doctors advise that mothers follow a hygienic habits for their babies. They could use a damped soft cloth to wipe a baby’s teeth and gums clean before and after a meal. It is also important to double check that there are no excess food in the baby’s mouth after eating, this can cause a tartar build up.

A Glue That Heal Wounds Quickly

Just like the burn ointment used by Katniss Everdeen to heal her wound quickly, LiveScience reported that researchers in Switzerland have invented a glue substance that is designed and can help heal wounds faster. It can heal burns, minor cuts, bruises, and broken bones.

This medicine can be very helpful specially for people whose natural healing process is slow. The healing glue which is called the "engineered growth factor", works by remaining near the damaged tissue longer than it normally would.

Growth factors are proteins produced naturally by animals. It naturally aids in the body’s healing proces. When the body is injured, growth factors signal certain cells to surround the wound and promotes healing.

Mikaël Martino who is the lead researcher at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland concentrates on these growth factors.

The team have found a way for these growth factor to remain attached to the extracellular matrix using a set of chemical hooks, that enable it to be more effective and could help heal wounds faster than before.

However, more study, research, and work is needed before these growth factors will be able to be used clinically.

Source: Martino M, Briquez P, Guc E, et al. Growth Factors Engineered for Super-Affinity to the Extracellular Matrix Enhance Tissue Healing. Science. 2014.