Professional Documents
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Drop Dead
Healthy
1. Sitting is worse for you than a Paula Deen glazed bacon donut.
2. If you are going to sit down, at least fidget. Or, as scientists call it,
engage in spontaneous physical activity. Wiggle in your chair, tap
your feet. Studies show that fidgeting burns a surprising number
of calories, about 350 a day.
13. Pets are bad for you: They can spread pneumonia, cat scratch fever, meningitis, chagas, and even the bubonic plague.
14. Interval training is painful but will save you huge amounts of time. (The idea is to run or bike at full capacity for a minute,
then take a rest. Then repeat several times).
15. There is no shame in light weights. The key to massive biceps and triceps is to achieve muscle failurethe moment when
your exhausted, shaky arms can lift no more. To recover, your body starts building new proteins. You can reach muscle failure
with any weight5 pounds, fifty pounds, it doesnt matter. Naturally, light weights may take more reps, but they may also
cause fewer injuries.
16. White foods are the devil. They usually mean the presence of white flour, salt, sugar, white rice, or potatoes. The exceptions
are egg whites and cauliflower.
17. Theres not a lot of evidence for barefoot running. Theres not a lot of evidence against it either.
18. Be wary of stretching. Or at least avoid static stretching, the kind where reach for your toes and hold for 30 seconds. Static
stretching actually hurts performance and makes athletes slower. When you stretch you should do dynamic stretching:
lunges, backward jogging, and lifting your knees above the waist while running.
19. Known appetite suppressants. Cayenne peppers (the spiciness curbs our urge for sugary and salty foods). Soup (A Penn State
study found soup eaters consumed 134 fewer calories per meal). Apples (another Penn State study showed those who ate
apples before lunch consumed 187 fewer calories than those who had applesauce). I ate a lot of peppers, soup, and apples.
20. Are still sitting? If you continue to do so, theres a 43 percent chance you will be
dead by the end of this list.
21. Cloves and cinnamon have the highest anti-oxidant level of any food.
22. Dermatologists recommend a shot-glass full of sunscreen every two to four hours. Thats a whole bunch of sunscreen.
23. The odor that women find most arousing? According to one peer-reviewed study, a combination of Good and Plenty and
cucumber. (Note: this did not work on my wife).
24. Mouth pieces improve athletic performance, according to several large studies. They jut your jaw forward, which makes
breathing easier and lowers the level of the stress hormone cortisol.
25. Doing a three-day juice cleanse is unpleasant, but at least theres a total lack of medical evidence on its benefits.
26. Ditto a colonic.
27. When taking a pole dancing class, its courteous to wipe the pole down after youre finished.
28. Number of times I flossed for my first 42 years of life: 0. Since starting this project: 400. What convinced me? Its not just for
your teeth, its to prevent plaque in your arteries and lengthen your lifespan by years.
29. Also surprisingly bad for your heart: Noise pollution. It raises blood pressure. Try SureFire Sonic Ear Plus earplugs, designed
for the military and law enforcement and available online.
30. If you run through Central Park holding a large mallet with which to smash logs (the Roman Legionnaires Workout), you
will get at least five people calling you Thor.
Drop Dead
Healthy
A. J. Jacobs