Our Podcast Favorites in Honor of International Podcast Day!

Our Podcast Favorites in Honor of International Podcast Day!

It’s International Podcast Day! So, for today’s article, we’d like to highlight some of our favorite episodes from 2019! 

On this episode of our podcast, our hosts Andrew Gabell and Candice Currie speak with Subbarao Myla, Medical Director at the HOAG Cardiovascular Institute, to talk about the physical, spiritual, and nutritional aspects of heart health.  

An interesting, and less commonly discussed, topic in heart health is love and heartbreak. You’ll hear about how the heart reacts to oxytocin, which Myla termed “the hormone of love” and you’ll learn how and why a person can actually die of heartbreak.  

Don’t worry, we also discuss the positive side of things like how to help “fix” a broken heart. Myla even gives us some great insight into heart healthy nutrition tips and shares how dark chocolate can help lower your risk for a stroke! 

In this episode, you will learn not only how to read the different sections of a nutrition label, you will also learn about macro-nutrients and what they are, which fats you should look out for, and even why popcorn has 2 sets of nutrition facts. Haven’t you ever been curious why anyone would need to know the nutrition facts for both popped AND un-popped popcorn? We’ve been curious, so we found out. 

You’ll also hear from Matt to get the History Lesson on Food Labels You Never Knew You Needed, and from our Registered Dietician, Debbie James, to get the full nutrition label breakdown. 

Dr. Neel Doshi, certified psychiatrist and our guest for Episode 23, talks about what it means to be mentally healthy. He explains that “mental health is just a state-of-being which takes into account our cognitive, psychological, and emotional health.” Many factors, including our biology, psychology, social lives, and our environment impact our mental well-being. 

Listening to this podcast, you will learn just how normative our interactions with each other should be, regardless of whether we are aware or not aware of someone’s mental wellness or illness. You will also learn about how social media, technology, and exercise play a role in your own mental health. 

One of the most important things we can do is to start de-stigmatizing mental illness. We hope this episode offers information you never knew and helps you find ways to improve your personal well-being. 

Debbie James, RDN and LA Fitness Master Trainer, Geoff Fox compete in a trivia battle on fitness and nutrition.

You’ll get answers to questions like “What type of exercise is proven to improve mood and feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins?” and “Which non-meat-based product contains more protein than a chicken breast?” 

Burning questions paired with some light-hearted rivalry make this episode so much fun to listen to. Give it a listen and see for yourself!  

On Episode 29, you’ll hear from our registered dietician, Debbie James, on why metabolism declines with age, when it starts to do so for men and women, and what you can do to help rewind the clock on that decline.  

One of our favorite lines from Debbie in this episode is about how we are becoming spectators as we get older instead of participating. If you consider that, as children we would constantly be running and playing, and as adults we’d take our own children or our pets to the park and lounge in the shade as they play, that thought really comes into focus.  

We love the idea that we should go back to being participants in life instead of spectators, and it’s this physical activity that is key to reviving our metabolism. 

Now last, but by no means least of our favorite episodes, we have our discussion on fad diets. We’re talking about Paleo, Whole 30, Keto, Anti-Inflammatory, and Intermittent Fasting.  

We’ve probably all dabbled in some of these diet plans and maybe even found a favorite and stuck to it like glue. If you stop to think about it though, do you really know the effect these diets have on your body? In this episode, you can get informed about the pros and cons of each diet and get a more complete picture of what your nutrition plan might look like if you chose to try one of these popular diets. 

We hoped you enjoyed our featured episodes! Feel free to browse our full menu of podcasts to find other interesting and exciting topics. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

Fun, Get in Shape and Help Augie’s Quest by taking a ZUMBA class? Yep!

Blog-Auggies-Quest

It is perhaps the best opportunity of the year for you to feel great after a workout both inside and out! On Saturday, February 23rd at 3pm LA Fitness is holding a special Zumba class that you can attend in order to support Augie’s Quest and help find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). CLICK here to learn more about this event and make a donation. *LA Fitness clubs not participating in this promotion: Grove City, OH (Former Urban Active), Grandview, OH (Former Urban Active), and Presale locations.

You probably want to know more, right? Well, who better to tell you than Augie Nieto himself? So, we contacted Augie for a Q&A about Augie’s Quest, ALS and the LA Fitness Zumba event.

Why is it important for everyone to participate in this event?

Augie: The fitness industry has been instrumental to MDA’s Augie’s Quest…we’ve raised over $35 million to date because of clubs and members around the country. YOU have the opportunity to be a part of history and help families fighting ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  Plus, I can’t think of a more entertaining way to get a workout!

How will the donations received from the LA Fitness Zumba event help Augie’s Quest, ALS and MDA?

Augie: Donations received will go directly to fast-track research for ALS.  Our goal is to find an effective treatment for this disease as soon as possible.

How far has research and treatment come since you were first diagnosed?

Augie: When I was first diagnosed, there were ZERO dollars being invested in ALS research from ‘Big Pharma.’  We’ve been able to change the landscape of ALS research drastically.  The lab we fund is called ALS TDI (www.als.net).  It’s the largest ALS research lab in the world and we are focused on finding drugs to treat ALS.  We currently have two drugs moving into Phase 2 clinical trials and 11 more in the pipeline. I know that one day soon, thanks to the support from the fitness industry, we’ll have effective treatments for ALS.

Your challenges, and the challenges faced with treating ALS are daunting, and yet you continue to persevere with Augie’s Quest, how do you do it?

Augie: What keeps me going is the momentum we have right now…we are truly making great strides in ALS drug development.  Right now there is only one FDA approved drug on the market for ALS patients and it doesn’t do much.  I’m confident the research we are funding will result in new effective drugs for the ALS community.

What would you like to tell those who are attending the Zumba event?

Augie: THANK YOU!  Most people who attend probably haven’t had their lives touched by ALS…it’s amazing to me that so many people come out to support our cause.  Oh…and get there early to get a front row spot!

Fun Question: What would you like to tell those who are hiding behind their poor dance skills as an excuse to skip the Zumba event?

Augie: If I can do it, you can do it!  Zumba isn’t about perfect choreography…it’s about having fun.  I promise you won’t regret it…no one has ever left a Zumba class and said “that wasn’t fun!”