Fit tips

• Here's some sweet news: Blueberries may help lower blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, researchers in Canada found. In a small study, overweight men at risk for heart disease and diabetes drank 1 cup of wild blueberry juice everyday for 3 weeks. Their blood sugar dropped by roughly 10 percent, and their insulin resistance also fell compared with that of control group participants who drank a placebo. The benefits may come from the effect on the pancreas of the fruit's high level of anthocyanins. (The pancreas regulates blood sugar by producing insulin.) Frozen wild blueberries off the same benefits as the juice.
• The remedy for hypertension is right in front of your face: breathing slowly through your nose can lower your blood pressure. In a new Indian study, people who practiced daily slow breathing exercises for 3 months resuced their systolic BP by 11 points and their diastolic by 7 points. Slow breathing increases the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates blood pressure. Close one nostril and exhale through the other for 6 seconds. Study participants did this for 15 minutes twice a day, but shorter sessions should also work.
• Strongman exercises aren't just for competitors on tv, they can help you eliminate weaknesses in your workout as well. Exercises like squats deadlifts and power cleans train your muscles in an up-and-down motion and when both feet are on the ground, but they ignore the lateral torso strength needed to maximize athletic performance. Add the farmer's walk to build more balanced strength.
• What you eat before you go to the gym might make a difference in transforming your body. Drinking a protein shake before and during weight training may speed FAT loss, say researchers ay Syracuse University. They found that people who drank a combination of amino acids and carbohydrates had higher metabolic rates the next day compared with when they ate just carbs. The extra protein may help lower the stress hormone cortisol, and that drop could boost your metabolism following exercise. Consuming a protein shake during resistance training may speed FAT loss and help build lean muscle.