HealthTrekker - Health And Wellness Tips

Health & wellness tips + hacks. -Backed by !SCIENCE! and studies, not bros & Voodoo. Why just survive when you can thrive? Become "The Better You", 1% at a time – starting today. If you're already healthy & want to nerd-out on how to get even more rad, HT is the place for you.

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For information only. This content is not medical care, advice, diagnosis, or recommendations.

The Aztecs Knew Something About Cocoa You Do Not. And You Just Might Live Longer If You Get Some

Filed Under: Aging

The Aztecs Knew Something About Cocoa You Do Not. And You Just Might Live Longer If You Get Some
cocoa inflammation aging dark chocolate and cocoa dish

The Old “Magic Elixir” Name Might Be Right, Especially For Anti-Aging:

No matter who you are, it’s tough to live a life without at least some kind of problems or complication.

What’s even worse is to have a problem you didn’t know about.

So, some of the best things you can do are to get into great general habits.

Because things like regular exercise and great nutrition can help head-off a lot of stuff before it even starts.

The list of problems exercise reduces or helps you avoid is pretty impressive.

So is the one that nutrition helps with as well.

And the team at Mass-General Brigham is finding out that chocolate might help you avoid a very sneaky hidden problem over time…

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Genetics Vs. Lifestyle: Which Factor Counts More For Slowing The Sands Of Time And Increasing Lifespan?

Filed Under: Aging

Genetics Vs. Lifestyle: Which Factor Counts More For Slowing The Sands Of Time And Increasing Lifespan?
lifespan genetics lifestyle silhouette video waves

Time-Machine. Defeat Aging; One Grain Of Sand At A Time:

One problem most of us have is wrestling with incremental progress.

As I talked about in the post on weight-loss and muscle gain, it turns out to be +/- imperceptible.

It’s almost a religious practice. Based on faith, done routinely, and deals with the unknown and things that seem invisible.

Many times, we don’t know if what we’re doing is working, or even helping.

Even though The Unknown can seem discouraging at times, it’s important to stay the course for when the graph eventually makes that “hockey stick” change upward.

And an Oxford-led team just discovered the same discipline is true for how long and well you live…

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Dazed & Confused Part Deux: Fix Your Brain & Your Life By Disconnecting From The Smartphone “Matrix”

Filed Under: Aging

Dazed & Confused Part Deux: Fix Your Brain & Your Life By Disconnecting From The Smartphone “Matrix”
jean marc cote smartphone mental health

Ancient Brains Are No Match For The Smartphone’s Digital Opiates:

Way back in 2007, I met a colorful character who worked at a gas station.

He somehow had the money to not only buy the brand new “Jesus Phone”, but to pay for the yacht-owner-expensive data plan.

And by 2011, only ~30% of non-gas-station Americans had a smartphone.

That number is much much higher now, and it’s drastically changed the way we do just about everything.

But for every miracle-save by a Door-Dasher or an Uber driver, there is also a downside.

The truth is both our short time using the internet, and even shorter time using smartphones are something our primitive brains are not ready for.

And a UTA team has the numbers on just how bad that is…

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Fish Oil Vs. Aging: Can A Little Softgel Affect Something As Big As Your Lifespan, Or Is It “Supplement BS”?

Filed Under: Aging

Fish Oil Vs. Aging: Can A Little Softgel Affect Something As Big As Your Lifespan, Or Is It “Supplement BS”?
fish oil aging tray of 4 small fish

The Fish-Oil Wars! Snake Oil Skepticism to Scientific Breakthrough?:

Sometimes, the “sure(st) thing” is that firm answers can be hard to come-by.

And nowhere is that more true than in the Wild-West space of supplements!

Whether it’s dangerous Vitamin E, magical metabolic Acai drinks, or major retailers putting house-plants into their echinacea,

It’s always had a Spectre of Woo-Woo BS or “Bro-Science”.

Even Fish Oil gets saddled with the BS nameplate from time-to-time.

But what if things are turning around yet again for the evidence?

The surprising findings from a U. Zurich team aren’t even just the regular, “Good for circulation. Smells.” -results.

They might hint at something WAY more fundamental, like one of the primary reasons you come to a nerdbot site like this in the first place…

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It Doesn’t Just “Wake The Dead”. Your Morning Coffee’s Anti-Aging Magic Might Be A Secret Time-Machine!

Filed Under: Aging

It Doesn’t Just “Wake The Dead”. Your Morning Coffee’s Anti-Aging Magic Might Be A Secret Time-Machine!
coffee longevity Turkish coffee brewing on coals

Portuguese Team Finds Coffee Could Be More Than Just A Wake-Up Call:

We all know that first cup of coffee in the morning feels like it brings us back to life.

But what if it actually does a little bit more than that?

An review of almost 100 studies suggests your daily brew might be doing a lot more than just getting you through morning meetings.

-Which is entirely possible, because (surprise, surprise) there is a lot more than just caffeine at work.

The findings are surprising enough that they’re causing researchers to rethink a few things they thought they knew about coffee and aging…

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Lumosity Controversy Remixed!: Puzzles, Reading, Game Workouts Might Make Brains Mighty After-All

Filed Under: Aging

Lumosity Controversy Remixed!: Puzzles, Reading, Game Workouts Might Make Brains Mighty After-All
puzzles reading brain fitness wooden puzzles on blue cloth

Surprisingly Traditional Activities Show Some Brain-Fitness Promise:

We’ve all heard it before. Do puzzles. Read more. Play games. Keep your mind active.

That search for ways to stay sharp as we age has led to everything from brain-training apps to a variety of supplements.

Is it all just Lumosity BS, or just something we tell ourselves to feel better about time spent doing crosswords?

Or, what if some of the most effective tools have been right in front of us all along?

Well, a team at Texas A&M decided to find out for sure.

And their research is uncovering some interesting evidence about the “Lumosity” angle after all…

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Everyday Plutonium. How One Of Mankind’s Worst Ingredients (Sugar) May Be Killing You. One Cell At A Time.

Filed Under: Aging

Everyday Plutonium. How One Of Mankind’s Worst Ingredients (Sugar) May Be Killing You. One Cell At A Time.
sugar cellular aging white crystals on black

The Phantom Menace Of Sugar In Your Diet:

We’ve talked about Freakonomics-type stuff here before in any of the “Stealth Health” posts.

But sometimes, things you might need to know get weirder than that.

Because there are good things that are really easy to forget like hydration and mindset.

There are other things that can be much more dangerous, though. Sort-of like living in a house that has black mold you don’t know about.

Still worse than that is a risk that’s been glossed-over with some kind of marketing varnish or PR-massaging.

It looks like a team from UCSF may have found another addition to this list…

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Longevity & The Mediterranean Diet – Can You Live To 100 With The Help Of Some Tiny But Tasty Biochemistry?

Filed Under: Aging

Longevity & The Mediterranean Diet – Can You Live To 100 With The Help Of Some Tiny But Tasty Biochemistry?
mediterranean diet longevity white wall chairs greece

Can A Better-Than-Average Diet Actually Make You Live Longer?:

Back about 2,000 years ago, an Ancient Greek doctor advised us to use food as medicine.

While we might look on this today as quaint, it still might be true.

One theme that comes up a lot recently is getting your vitamins from your diet and not in pill form.

There are even a few scary pieces of research out there as to why.

Equally scary is the research on Health & Wellness’ polar opposite, Ultra-Processed Food, which seems like a gut-bomb of serious proportions.

But something that can get easily overlooked is what happens when you start eating better instead of just not eating junk…

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Note: For informational purposes only. Should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendations, or substitute for professional care.