The Liver: A ‘Blob’ That Runs the Body
Many of us only think about our liver when we’re abusing it, usually with too many cocktails after work on a Friday. However, we don’t tend to consider the myriad of functions that the liver performs for the body. In fact, the liver’s ‘to-do’ list is second only to the brain, numbering about 300 These tasks include systematically reworking the food we eat into usable building blocks for our cells; neutralizing the many potentially harmful substances that we incidentally or deliberately ingest; generating a vast pharmacopoeia of hormones, enzymes, clotting factors and immune molecules; controlling blood chemistry. And that’s just for starters…
Read the full article, The Liver: A ‘Blob’ That Runs the Body
This is the first time that we’ve recommended a movie on the Backs Etc. blog, but we found this film to be so interesting and informative, not to mention fun to watch, that we felt it was worth highlighting. In a similar vein to Supersize Me, filmmaker Damon Gameau documents the effects of eating supposedly healthy foods that contain high amounts of sugar, to frightening effect. Whilst it may sound grim and depressing, it’s presented in such a way that makes for very enjoyable viewing, as well as being eye-opening.
This concise article explains the importance of grip strength, including the somewhat frightening study which found that grip strength is closely correlated with all causes of mortality. On the positive side, it details a few resistance training exercises that are excellent for improving your grip strength. At Backs Etc., we work with many clients on improving their grip, through bodyweight, dumbbell and kettlebell exercises.
Chronic feelings of tightness don’t necessarily mean that your muscles are tight and short, especially if you have tried stretching and it doesn’t change things. It is more likely an indication of an increased neurological sensitivity. Perhaps strengthening or improving the way you move may provide the solution. At Backs Etc we can help you with this.
We at Backs Etc. love hiking! We find getting out in nature and getting from place to place under our own natural power immensely satisfying and cathartic. And now it seems that more and more doctors are actually writing ‘nature prescriptions’ or recommending ‘ecotherapy’ to reduce anxiety, improve stress levels, and to curb depression. Looks like it’s good for body, mind and soul, so what are you waiting for? Get out there and hit the trails!
Women of all ages should be doing some form of weight training. It is the most important type of exercise to do, coming in ahead of flexibility and cardio training. It will massively reduce your risk of osteoporosis, and is essential in weight control too. If you feel intimidated by weight training and don’t know where to start at, Backs Etc we specialise in giving you a program that will meet your health and fitness goals and is tailored to the equipment you have access to.
Here at Backs Etc we focus on building our clients’ true and dynamic core strength, initially by getting them to breathe abdominally. We then use primal movements such as rolling and crawling to enable them to integrate the breathing and improve their basic movement patterns, which will translate into improvements in more advanced movements such as running or weight lifting. Get in touch with us if you need some help finding your true dynamic core stability.
Can something as simple as holding hands really help mitigate pain? Researchers at the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Colorado have published a study indicating that, in fact, it can.