Fiber: The Nutrient You’re Likely Lacking

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

Fiber is one of the most overlooked nutrients in our diets today. Most people consume less than half of the recommended amounts, despite the big health benefits that come with a fiber-filled diet. Not only is fiber good for your gut, feeding the good bugs and keeping you regular, but it also plays a central role in keeping your heart healthy, too. Those who have diets rich in fiber are more likely to manage their weight, and have better control of their cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Long term, this may result in huge benefits to your heart, not to mention a decreased risk of diabetes and some cancers. So, by making fiber a more common part of your diet, you are sure to benefit in ways beyond just the toilet department!

Now before you start conjuring up images of straw-flavored bran or your grandmother’s daily dose of prunes, you should know that there are fiber-rich foods that are delicious.

Which foods provide fiber? It’s simple—plants! You won’t find fiber in animal products like meat, eggs, or dairy. But, if you’re filling your meals with minimally processed plant foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, you can be sure you’re getting a good dose of fiber.

Different Types of Fiber Have Different Benefits

While fiber in general is important, it gets slightly more specific than that. There are in fact two main types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Most whole plant foods contain a mix of both, but some foods contain more of the one type than the other and both have benefits.

Soluble fiber is the type your heart loves the most. This type of fiber dissolves, becomes a gel, and absorbs water and cholesterol in the stomach, slowing down digestion and decreasing fat absorption. This action supports your heart health by lowering cholesterol levels, increasing feelings of fullness, and regulating blood sugar. 

Insoluble fiber is the type of fiber that does not dissolve in water, but acts more like a broom sweeping waste out of your body. This action helps to keep you regular, preventing constipation, and long-term, may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

How to Hit Your Daily Fiber Goal

The Institute of Medicine recommends men and women, aged 50 or younger, consume at least 38 grams and 25 grams a day, respectively. If you’re over the age of 50, recommendations for men change to 30 grams and for women to 21 grams a day. Note: Fiber is bulky, slower to digest, and initially may cause increased gas—thanks to the good bugs that love to munch on it. So, ensure you’re keeping active and drinking lots of water as you slowly start to eat more fiber-rich foods. (You’ll thank us later for that tip!) 

Foods rich in soluble fiber	Total fiber
Vegetables (cooked) Acorn squash, 1 cup Carrots, 1 cup Brussels sprouts, 1 cup Sweet potato, 1 medium Summer squash, 1 cup	9 g 5 g 4 g 4 g 3 g
Beans/Peas (cooked) Navy beans, 1 cup Black beans, 1 cup Kidney beans, 1 cup Lima beans, 1 cup	19 g 14 g 13 g 13 g
Grains Bran cereal, ½ cup Psyllium, 2 tablespoons Barley, cooked, 1 cup Steel-cut oats, dry, ¼ cup Old-fashioned oats, dry, ¼ cup	10 g 7 g 6 g 4 g 2 g
Fruits Avocado, ½ medium Pear, 1 medium Apple, 1 medium Orange, 1 medium Peach, 1 medium	9 g 6 g 4 g 4 g 3 g
Nuts/Seeds  Chia seeds, 2 tablespoons  Flax seeds, 2 tablespoons  Hemp seeds, 2 tablespoons	10 g 4 g 2 g

Foods rich in insoluble fiber	Total fiber
Vegetables Cauliflower, cooked, 1 cup Spinach, cooked, 1 cup Potatoes, cooked, 1 medium  Kale, cooked, 1 cup Green beans, 1 cup	5 g 4 g 4 g 3 g 2 g
Beans/Peas (cooked) Split peas, 1 cup Lentils, 1 cup Chickpeas, 1 cup Black-eyed peas, 1 cup	15 g 13 g 13 g 11 g
Grains Wheat bran, 1 ounce (30 g) Quinoa, cooked, 1 cup Brown rice, cooked, 1 cup Popcorn, 3 cups Whole wheat bread, 1 slice	12 g 5 g 4 g 4 g 2 g
Fruits Raspberries, 1 cup Prunes, ½ cup Kiwi, 1 cup Strawberries, 1 cup Raisins, 2 ounces (60 g)	8 g 6 g 5 g 4 g 2 g
Nuts/Seeds Pine nuts, 1 ounce (30 g) Almonds, 1 ounce (30 g) Peanuts,1 ounce (30 g)	12 g 4 g 2 g

If you’re still wondering how to build a fiber-filled day, here’s what a typical day’s intake might look like:

One Day High-Fiber Meal Plan

Breakfast

Vanilla Overnight Oats with Berries and Lemon, 11 g fiber, 399 calories

(oats, chia seeds, berries)

Lunch

Spinach and Berry Salad, 4 g fiber, 300 calories

(spinach, berries, onions, poppy seeds)

Grilled chicken, 4 oz (120 g), 0 g fiber, 130 calories

½ cup cooked quinoa, 2.5 g fiber, 111 calories

Snack

Apple, 4 g fiber, 95 calories

2 tablespoons Peanut butter, 2 g fiber, 192 calories

Dinner

Turkey Lentil Chili with Cornbread Biscuits, 9 g fiber, 450 calories

(cornmeal, whole wheat flour, lentils, tomatoes, corn)

Total Daily Fiber: 32.5 g

Total Daily Calories: 1677 calories

The Bottomline 

Any fiber, whether soluble or insoluble, is an important part of a healthy diet. If you’re really homing in on heart-healthy habits, eating more fiber-rich plant foods is the perfect starting point  and may positively impact your weight, cholesterol, and gut health.

If you’ve tried incorporating more fiber into your meals and can’t tolerate it for any reason, you may want to consider a supplement or speaking with your primary care physician or registered dietitian nutritionist. 

Looking for more fiber inspiration?

• Check out this blog post for new whole grains to add to your shopping list
• Learn how to track your fiber intake in the Fitbit app 
• Experiment with cooking more beans at home
• And discover why fiber is the secret for weight-loss success.

The post Fiber: The Nutrient You’re Likely Lacking appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/you-need-more-fiber/

What is AFib vs Other Heart Arrhythmias?

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. This happens when electrical impulses that control the heart’s rhythm fire irregularly, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slowly or erratically. 

One particular arrhythmia you may have heard of is atrial fibrillation (AFib). Millions of people are living with AFib. 

AFib is an irregular or quivering heartbeat that keeps the heart’s upper chambers from emptying completely. This allows blood to pool and clot. If a blood clot enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery serving the brain, this leads to stroke. 

What should someone do if they get a positive reading?

Seek medical treatment if you suspect that you may have atrial fibrillation. Often, people with AFib report feeling their heart “skip a beat” or “bang against their chest” during mild exertion, such as carrying items up a flight of stairs. Others with AFib recount feeling “nauseated, light-headed and weak,” with a “really fast heartbeat.” 

But other people with AFib don’t have any symptoms. That’s why it’s important to have regular physical exams, so that a health care provider can check your heart health. A smartwatch or tracker can offer you a glimpse into your heart rate on a day-to-day basis.

If you’re diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, work with your health care provider to determine your treatment plan. Your health care provider may treat the direct cause of your AFib (such as hyperthyroidism), or they may suggest ways to regulate your heart’s rhythm. Often, health care providers recommend medications called blood thinners to lessen stroke risk for AFib patients.

Who is at risk of AFib?

Anyone can develop atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke. Still, several factors place some people at higher risk.

What may increase that risk?

• Advanced age: The number of adults developing AFib increases significantly with age. 

• High blood pressure: Long-standing, uncontrolled blood pressure can increase your risk for AFib.

• Underlying heart disease: Anyone with heart disease or a history of heart attack is at greater risk. AFib is also the most common complication after heart surgery.

• Excessive alcohol use: Binge drinking may put you at higher risk for AFib.

• Family history: Having a family member with a history of AFib increases your chances of being diagnosed. 

• Sleep apnea: Studies show a strong link between obstructive sleep apnea and AFib.

• Athletic conditioning: AFib can affect athletes, particularly endurance athletes who undergo extreme training. This isn’t a concern for most people, who benefit greatly from moderate exercise.

• Other chronic conditions: Others at higher risk for AFib include those with thyroid problems, diabetes and asthma.

Triggers

For those with AFib, periods of extreme stress or fatigue can trigger episodes of atrial fibrillation. Energy drinks, alcohol use or poor sleep can also be triggers.

What can users do to lessen their risk?

Here are some things you can do to help prevent AFib:

• Get regular, moderate to vigorous physical activity

• Eat a heart-healthy diet

• Manage high blood pressure

• Avoid excessive alcohol and caffeine

• Don’t smoke

• Control cholesterol

• Maintain a healthy weight

The post What is AFib vs Other Heart Arrhythmias? appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/what-is-afib/

Four Safe Practices for Earbud Usage

With many gyms across the country still closed, you may be finding yourself walking or running through your neighborhood for exercise more often, listening to your favorite workout mix along the way. So, the question is—if you blast your music to stay in the zone, or if you turn up the volume to drown out traffic noise, could you be impacting your hearing?

We talked to several experts, who recommend listening to music, podcasts, and other sounds no louder than 85 decibels for extended periods of time. In-ear listening devices (earbuds) and external earphones both can be safe.

“If you’re at 85 or below, I’m sure that you’re going to be just fine, whether you’re exercising for 15 minutes or 8 hours,” says research audiologist Rebecca Lewis, AuD, PhD, a member of the editorial committee for the Hearing Health Foundation’s Hearing Health magazine.

85 decibels is equivalent to the noise from a full cafeteria or busy traffic, but it’s difficult to determine just how loud the output from your earbuds or earphones may be. “The best way would really be to visit an audiologist or someone who has that capability to actually measure the output of your device,” Lewis says, “but it’s not something that’s commonly offered.”

There are no universal volume levels on smartphones or earbuds and every manufacturer uses its own scale. Some devices and headphones can emit sounds over 100 decibels, which may cause noise-induced hearing loss after 15 minutes. For this reason, don’t turn up the volume to the maximum level. “Once you start creeping above the 50 percent volume mark on your smartphone, you probably should pay a little closer attention to where your volume is,” Lewis says.

You can check to see if your earbud volume output is too loud by asking someone standing nearby if they can hear your music, or by standing a few feet away from your own earbuds while music plays. These approaches may give you insights into your listening habits. “If you can hear your music very clearly,” Lewis says, “I would say you should probably turn it down.”

By listening at a lower volume you’ll not only help to preserve your hearing, but you’ll hear traffic driving by, which will make it less likely that you’ll step into the street when a car is coming.

Read on to learn more tips on how to listen with earbuds while keeping your eardrums and hearing intact: 

Adjust the volume once. Before you go out for your walk or run, turn on your music and choose an acceptable volume level while you’re still inside. Then keep it at that level the entire time you’re out.

“You’re trying to get to the comfortable loudness level, but you can only do it in quiet,” says Alan Oshinsky, MD, chief of the division of otolaryngology at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “Make it as loud as you like it, where it’s tolerable and doesn’t seem to be hurting your ears. [The] loudness should not change when you go into more sound, because if you do… you’re just making it louder in your ear to compensate for the outside noise.”

Test your environment’s sound level. If you run along a busy road, you may wonder whether you’ve been making your music too loud so that you could hear your songs over the traffic din. Try the app  Decibel X, which can accurately measure the decibel levels of noises around you.

“If you don’t have noise-canceling headphones, then you probably end up listening to that road noise—let’s say that’s 75,” Lewis says. “If you’re the person who wants to turn it up beyond the road noise, then you’ll know, ‘Well hey, if I’m already at 75 with this road noise, I kind of have this narrow window to work with.’”

Listen to familiar music. When you know that you’ll hear traffic while you’re walking or running, choosing music that you’re intimately familiar with, rather than listening to something new, should help you keep the volume lower.

“If you’re really familiar with a certain album [or] you have this certain playlist that you always listen to when you’re running, your brain does a really good job of filling in any gaps that you might not actually hear,” Lewis says. “[But] if you’re listening to something new, you need more of that auditory information to actually make sense of what you’re listening to. [With familiar music], you might just have a quieter listening experience, where your brain is actually filling in those gaps.”

Wear both earbuds. Some people wear only one earbud, so that they can hear music in one ear and traffic noises in the other. But using one ear to hear external noises may make it harder to locate where a sound is coming from, Lewis says, which may make it harder to get out of the way of a car quickly. Wearing both earbuds lets you listen at a lower volume, so you should be able to hear traffic over the music in both ears.

“If I were to choose how people were to listen, I would keep it at a lower volume and [wear] both ears together,” Lewis says. “When you listen to sound with both ears… basically, your brain adds up the volume from both ears. It doesn’t actually affect your inner ear or those structures that we usually think about when we think about hearing damage, because you can keep it just a little bit lower.”

The post Four Safe Practices for Earbud Usage appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/safe-earbud-use/

The Virtues of Virtual Racing, According to Dean Karnazes

When the pandemic first hit there was a sense of dread in the running community—in chilling succession, races across the country began cancelling. The iconic Boston Marathon held out hope, rescheduling from the traditional mid-April date to October. But hope was ultimately dashed when the October race was cancelled, marking the first time in the race’s 123-year history the race was not held.

Many runners longed for the race experience, but it is now clear most races won’t be coming back online for some time to come. So what’s a runner to do in this new landscape? How can we experience the thrill and excitement of racing in this current situation? One way is through virtual racing.

Now a popular alternative to traditional racing, virtual races come in a variety of means. Some virtual races are simply structured as distance challenges, like 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon.

The races’ rules might vary, such as having a set distance that must be covered on a set race day, or there may be a range of dates that participants can take up the challenge. Some virtual races are competitive, with leader boards and rankings—data from your Fitbit or other tracking device uploaded for verification—while others races are more low-key and structured almost like a fun run, with the main goal being to do some form of exercise on a given day, even if that’s on a treadmill.

One virtual race that’s particularly creative is the Big Surreal Marathon. There are five virtual challenge options—from a 5K to a marathon—and also the opportunity to run more that one race. The more you do, the more prizes and swag you earn. The race window is open for thirty days, offering plenty of time to complete multiple challenges.

Many of the virtual races have virtual after-parties. It’s always uplifting to see a thousand smiling participants on Zoom talking about their race experience, and the craziness of life overall, virtual thumbs-up flashing across the screen, everyone making the best out of what we’ve got.

Virtual racing helps me stay motivated to set and achieve a goal, at a time when having goals seems more important than ever. With so much uncertainty surrounding us these days, virtual racing allows a finish line to be crossed. And there’s just something comforting about that.

The post The Virtues of Virtual Racing, According to Dean Karnazes appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/virtual-racing-dean-karnazes/

All About Avocados

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

You’ve had them diced on tacos, mashed on toast, and mixed into guacamole, but how much do you really know about avocados? It turns out the little green fruits are packed with healthy fats, fiber (yes, fiber!), and many other essential nutrients, making them a smart addition to your diet.   

“The most well-known nutritional benefit of avocados is that they are high in monounsaturated fats, the same heart-healthy fats that are in nuts and olive oil,” says Rachael Hartley, RD, author of the upcoming book Gentle Nutrition. “They also have fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin E and K as well as magnesium and potassium.” On top of that, half an avocado contains about 7 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein.

It might seem counterintuitive to eat a high fat food in order to be healthy, but research backs this up. A recent study from Penn State found that eating one avocado a day was associated with lower levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). Combine that with the high levels of potassium, which can help to bring down blood pressure, you’ve got yourself a top heart-healthy food to add to your weekly shopping list.   

Even better? Avocados can also make your snacks and meals way more satisfying. “Including fat creates a more indulgent-feeling eating experience,” says Hartley. “And when the fat is broken down into fatty acids, it sends a signal to your brain to turn off hunger cues.” On top of that, the fat takes a longer time for your body to digest, which Hartley says makes you feel full longer. In other words, you won’t be so quick to reach for that next snack. Plus, all that fiber provides a double whammy of hunger-busting fullness.

So now that you know all the reasons you should eat more avocados, you’re probably wondering how to include them in your day. In addition to the ways mentioned above (everybody needs more guacamole in their lives!), here are some more unique ideas:

Use half of an avocado as a vessel. Hartley loves halving an avocado, taking the pit out, and filling the hole with crab salad, shrimp salad, or a smoked salmon mixture.

Grill up avocado halves. The next time you fire up the barbecue, throw on some avocado halves to give them a smoky flavor. “It’s easiest if you cut them in half and leave them in their skin, then just place cut side down on the grill,” says Hartley.

Use them as a condiment on your sandwich. Hartley mashes up avocado with some goat cheese and spreads that on sandwich bread instead of mayo.

Puree them into a soup. This Green Gazpacho with Cucumber & Avocado is creamy and bright, perfect for sipping on a summer day.

Toss them into any salad. The creamy, mild flavor goes with pretty much anything, like sweet potatoes, grapefruit, or even chickpeas.

Spoon them into your grain bowls. Add creaminess and color to your favorite grain bowls. Try this Quinoa Bowl with Black Beans, Mango & Avocado, or the California Roll Sushi Bowls with Crab & Avocado.  

The post All About Avocados appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/all-about-avocados/

What Might Be Causing a High or Low Heart Rate

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

Your heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm). If you’re like most adults, your resting heart rate falls between 60 and 100 bpm. 

Your heart rate can be affected by factors such as stress, anxiety, emotions, hormones, medications you may be taking and how physically active you are.

Some variation is normal. But if your heart rate while you’re inactive routinely falls below or above your normal range, you may have either a low heart rate (bradycardia) or a high heart rate (tachycardia). 

Causes of a low heart rate

• Old age

• Extreme physical conditioning, like that of athletes

• Electrical problems in the heart

• Metabolic problems, such as hypothyroidism

• Physical damage to the heart

• Certain heart medications, such as beta blockers

Causes of a high heart rate

• Anxiety

• Sudden stress, such as fear

• Fever

• Emotional distress

• Recreational stimulants

• Electrical problems in the heart

Other, less common causes that affect heart rate include:

• Anemia

• Increased thyroid activity

• Heart muscle damage

Your heart rate when you’re at rest offers a glimpse into your heart health. If you are concerned about a low or high heart rate, consult with your health care provider. 

The post What Might Be Causing a High or Low Heart Rate appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/aha-high-low-heart-rate/

Why the Mediterranean Diet is the Healthiest Way to Eat

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

It may not seem as trendy as intermittent fasting, veganism, or going gluten-free, but the Mediterranean diet has a lot going for it. This longtime eating style has been keeping Southern Europeans slim and healthy for generations, and it’s easy (and tasty) to adopt. It’s also an effective way to help reduce your risk of heart disease. (Bonus: it’s good for the planet, too!)

“The most appealing aspect of the Mediterranean diet is that it’s a long-term style of eating, rather than a temporary diet that involves counting, weighing, measuring and avoiding certain foods,” says Anne Danahy, MS, RDN, an Arizona-based registered dietitian nutritionist and author of The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Two.

What it is and why it’s good for you

The Mediterranean diet doesn’t have a firm set of rules to follow or a signature dish. Rather, it incorporates foods that people who live in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea have eaten for centuries, with emphasis on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts, as well as heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil. Fish and seafood are enjoyed a couple of times a week, while dairy, eggs, and poultry are eaten in moderation. Red meat and sugary sweets are saved for special occasions. Herbs and spices are predominantly used to flavor food, rather than salt.

“It’s all about creating a delicious balance,” Danahy says. “Eating more of the traditional foods of the diet is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, improved cognitive function, and healthier weight.”

That’s all thanks to the abundant amount of health-promoting nutrients this eating style delivers. By focusing your meals around plant foods, you’re loading up on antioxidants and anti-inflammatory polyphenols, which actively work to fight disease and lower inflammation in your body. And by limiting ultra-processed foods and red meat, you’re reducing added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats. Eat this way, keep active, and get enough quality sleep, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for good health.          

How to adopt this eating style

There’s no single way to follow the Mediterranean diet. For inspiration, cook dishes from Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Morocco, or other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Seek cookbooks for recipes or create your own menus with your favorite ingredients.

“The most appealing part of this diet is that it is sustainable and satisfying,” says Julene Stassou, MS, RD, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian and author of The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution. “It’s not a ‘crash’ diet, and there is plenty of food so that a person is satiated.”

You can even adopt the Mediterranean way of eating while managing other eating goals:

Vegetarian- and vegan-friendly

Because the majority of Mediterranean-style foods are plant-based, you won’t have problems avoiding animal products while following this eating style. “Being vegan can easily overlap with the Mediterranean diet because the region naturally lends itself to an abundance of produce and grains that are incorporated into the daily diet,” says Denise Hazime, the California-based author of 5-Ingredient Mediterranean Cookbook. “They also tend to use olive oil as the source of fat for cooking, and less butter.”

Adopting the Mediterranean diet may even inspire you to experiment with vegetarianism or veganism. As it takes a “flexitarian” approach, it means you still get to eat meat occasionally, but you’re ultimately focusing on plant foods first. “If someone wants to skip fish and dairy, they can add more legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, and vegetables and still get the protein and other nutrients they need,” Danahy says.

Easy to go gluten-free

The Mediterranean diet may be well-suited for you if you need to avoid wheat, rye, barley, and other gluten-containing foods. “Almost all of the foods in the Mediterranean diet food pyramid are naturally gluten-free,” Danahy says. “The exception would be the wheat-based grains, rye, and barley. But there are numerous gluten-free grains, like amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, rice, quinoa or gluten-free oats that can be substituted very easily.” Along with other gluten-free ways to get healthy carbs on your plate like sweet potato, corn, and fresh fruit.

Plus, when following this eating style, you may realize that you eat gluten-containing products less frequently because you’re consuming fewer processed foods like donuts, bagels, and pastries. 

Aligns with intermittent fasting

There are no nutritional guidelines for intermittent fasting; rather, people decide to eat or fast during certain hours. There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy Mediterranean-inspired foods. “You not only get the benefits of fasting,” Danahy says, “but when you’re eating, you’re fueling up on foods that promote improved health.”

Many of the Mediterranean diet’s nutrient-dense staples may make your fasting periods easier to endure. “Stick to eating high-fiber foods—such as nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables—and high protein foods—including beans, nuts, tofu, and fish—during your eating window, and drink lots of water,” Stassou says. “This will help you get through your fasting period because it will prevent hunger.”

Adding something sweet

There’s very little added sugar in a traditional Mediterranean diet. People may reach for a piece of fruit, but there are other sweet options. “Baklava is a super-indulgent Mediterranean dessert, but if you’re looking for something a little less decadent but still satisfy your sweet tooth, I’d recommend [something like] rice pudding, almond cookies, or date and nut balls,” Hazime says. “All of these are really easy to make and are healthier options.”

Dark chocolate is another possibility. “It’s low in sugar and high in antioxidants,” Danahy says. “A small piece, along with some fruit or melted and drizzled over a bowl of berries, is a decadent but healthier way to enjoy something sweet while still sticking to the Mediterranean way of eating.”

You could also try any of the following healthy recipes on the Fitbit blog: Coconut Energy Bites, Cashew Butter Cookies with Cinnamon, and Chia Seed Pudding with Mango & Coconut. 

The post Why the Mediterranean Diet is the Healthiest Way to Eat appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/mediterranean-diet/

Can You Eat Eggs if You Have High Cholesterol?

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

High in protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious and perfectly packaged proteins. But for years they were considered a no-go because they contain a fair amount of dietary cholesterol. 

Are you confused about dietary cholesterol versus the cholesterol in your blood? Dietary cholesterol is the cholesterol you consume when you eat animal products. All animals, including humans, make cholesterol in their bodies. When you eat animal products like eggs, meat, poultry, dairy products, and shellfish, you consume the cholesterol the animal made, known as dietary cholesterol. 

So what’s prompted the great egg comeback? While eggs do contain cholesterol, the new USDA dietary guidelines no longer specify a daily cholesterol limit for a few reasons:

People are eating the recommended amount of cholesterol. Previous guidelines needed to set a limit on cholesterol because people were eating too much. Now, decades later, we are eating the recommended amount (hooray!), so there’s no longer a need to take up prime real estate in the nutrition guidelines to stipulate an amount. This doesn’t mean we can now eat more cholesterol.

Eggs contain cholesterol but also contain many beneficial nutrients. Eggs deliver high-quality protein and you can eat them along with other healthy protein-rich foods like fish, lean poultry, and beans. Also, there’s no research showing an association between eating eggs and heart disease. So there’s no longer a limit on how many eggs you can eat, unless you have high cholesterol or heart disease.

Saturated fats and trans fats matter more. When it comes to managing your blood cholesterol, what’s more important is to reduce how much saturated and trans fats you consume. Trans fats are mostly found in fried foods like doughnuts, baked goods like cakes, and stick margarine. Foods high in saturated fats, like fatty and processed meats and high-fat dairy products, are also high in cholesterol; so by limiting these foods, you’ll automatically be eating a lower cholesterol diet. Interestingly, eggs and shellfish are high in cholesterol but low in saturated fats.

The Bottom Line: Know Your Risks

If you have high cholesterol, diabetes, or have had a heart attack, it’s a good idea to limit your cholesterol intake from all foods, including eggs. Eggs can be part of a healthy eating plan, along with a variety of other nutritious protein-rich foods like beans, fish, and skinless chicken, just don’t eat too many. The American Heart Association suggests one egg (or two egg whites) per day for people who eat them, as part of a healthy diet.

Sign up for Fitbit Premium and discover guided nutrition programs that can help you improve your heart health. 

The post Can You Eat Eggs if You Have High Cholesterol? appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/eggs-high-cholesterol/

The Psychology of Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, we generally think of the physiology behind it—calories in versus calories out, body mass index, steps per day. The numbers and science. But what if there’s an X factor that we rarely think about?

The mindset with which you approach a weight loss regimen may matter. In a small study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers placed participants into two groups. Both groups followed a balanced isocaloric eating plan. In other words, both groups were eating the same number of calories, but only one group knew it; the other group was told they were on a low-calorie regimen. The participants who thought they were eating low-cal meals ended up losing more weight than those who knew they were eating the same number of calories.

What’s going on here? Since it was a very small study on placebo effect, it’s hard to draw a firm conclusion. But the research hints that a person’s beliefs about their eating habits may impact their health outcomes.

Mindset matters when it comes to shedding pounds, and there are a few sound psychological strategies experts have discovered actually work. Here, Charlotte Markey, PhD, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University and author of the forthcoming Body Image Book for Girls, explains how to approach weight loss the right way. 

Think about what you are going to eat, not what you can’t eat. If you constantly tell yourself, “I can’t eat chocolate,” or, “I need to avoid bread,” you wind up obsessing about what you can’t eat. This is torturous, says Markey. “If you are thinking of avoiding certain behaviors, that is usually harder to manage than approaching or achieving goals,” she says. “It is all about how we frame what we do.”

Instead of thinking that you can’t eat ice cream, it’s “advisable to think about eating more fruit” or the types of foods you want to eat more of. Plan your shopping list with all sorts of healthy goodies, and focus on those.

Reframe your approach to eating as a form of self-care. If you think, “I look bad; I need to lose weight,” you’re approaching your dietary regimen as a form of self-punishment. Eating should mean taking care of yourself, says Markey. “Really, you should approach any behavior change as a form of self-care,” she says. “Think, ‘I will do this because it’s good for me,’ instead of being upset with yourself and then forcing yourself to do it.” 

Think about how you want to take care of yourself, Markey says. Is it a home-cooked meal three nights a week? Is it increasing your fiber, opting for whole foods, grabbing more superfoods like avocado and quinoa? Focus on health and the results. Doesn’t eating a delicious, perfectly-planned sushi brown rice bowl just feel good?

Choose plans that involve joy; don’t take anything off the table. A lot of people crash diet; they opt for juice cleanses and carb-restricted menus. It’s hard to imagine never enjoying food at all, says Markey, and it’s easy to fall off a wagon you were never supposed to get on. “Think about what is realistic and sustainable for you and your lifestyle,” she says. “It’s not your fault if you cannot avoid carbs forever, and it’s not even advisable from a health perspective.” If you don’t enjoy eating your meals—something you do multiple times a day—you’re likely to fail. 

At Fitbit, we don’t believe in diets. Not only because they don’t stick, but also because they often deprive the body of what it needs in the long-term for a short-term quick fix. “What you need to do instead is to eat in a balanced, healthy way,” says Markey, “But don’t avoid anything.” The moment you say, “I can’t have that,” you’ll want it 10 times more. If you love sweets, opt for a small square of dark chocolate after dinner. If you want that pizza, do one slice with a salad on the side. 

Balance is a state of mind. “Really work on the mental piece of it,” says Markey. “Fearing certain foods or demonizing certain foods is not a good way to live a healthy, well-adjusted life.” Allow yourself to eat the foods you love. Savor them slowly, without guilt, and you’ll be amazed at how a small portion is often all you need to satisfy a craving.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Living well is not about monitoring the scale every single day. Markey sees a lot of people who are very focused on losing weight when they absolutely don’t need to. “There is more and more research to suggest that weight is not as big of a contributor to chronic conditions as we thought it was,” she says. “Sometimes, people are having a lot of angst about weight, which is brought on because they are embedded in ‘diet culture.’” 

If you’re having a tough time with body image, extreme diets, or weight loss struggles, reach out for help. “A lot of people would benefit from work with a therapist who specializes in these issues, body image, and eating,” says Markey. “It is an investment in self that will be sustainable for the rest of your life, especially among women where the pressure is extreme.” Sometimes, it’s worth challenging our own beliefs to see if the need to lose weight is internally motivated, or externally driven. Narrow cultural ideals of beauty should never have a say in your health or weight. 

The post The Psychology of Weight Loss appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/psychology-weight-loss/

Your Gym Re-opened: Now What?

As more and more states begin reopening businesses, you might soon have the option of going back to your local gym. While the idea may be exciting—you’ll get access to all that equipment again and be able to work out with your favorite trainer!—you might also be wondering just how safe it is. It turns out, that’s not super easy to figure out.

The first thing to realize is that the coronavirus hasn’t gone anywhere. “Just because social distancing rules are relaxing doesn’t mean the risk from the virus is disappearing,” says Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Every time you interact with others, there’s a chance for virus transmission, so you need to think about your individual risk factors and tolerances.” In other words: How risky is it for you personally to go to the gym (do you have other health issues that could result in more serious complications from Covid-19) and how comfortable are you with that?

Here’s the other thing to keep in mind: Gyms are basically big germ magnets (you can thank all those sweaty people sharing an enclosed space). “Prior to Covid-19, there were studies done looking at different areas of the gym and they found bacteria like staph and E. Coli in a lot of different places,” says Peter Gulick, D.O., an infectious disease expert at Michigan State University. “The locker room was the worst.

To keep dangerous germs under control, your reopening gym is about to look very different from the one you went to a few months ago. The specifics will vary, but common approaches are limiting how many people can be inside at any one time, setting up hand hygiene stations throughout, spacing out equipment more, and upping the frequency equipment gets cleaned. “Those steps decrease the risk of transmission, but it doesn’t make it zero,” says Adalja. “You’ll need to decide for yourself if the risk is too much for you or not.”

If you do decide to head back, there are a few things you can do to help stay safe. “We know Covid-19 can be transmitted through other people breathing, so you’ll want to maintain at least a six-foot distance from others, if not more,” says Gulick. In other words, pick a treadmill or elliptical that isn’t right next to someone else’s machine. On top of that, try to plan your visit for off-hours so there are fewer people there, wash your hands frequently, and don’t touch your face. You might also want to avoid using the locker room if you can (try to come dressed in your workout clothes already).

Still not sure about heading back to the gym quite yet? Get creative by asking if you can rent some of their equipment or do a virtual training session from your home. After all, the most important thing is working out—no matter how you do it.

The post Your Gym Re-opened: Now What? appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/gym-reopening/

How to Exercise With a Friend When Your Social Distancing Practices Differ

Walk around any city or town and you’ll see that some people are wearing masks and practicing social distancing, while others are interacting with people the way that they did before the pandemic. If everyone in your social circle subscribes to the same social distancing guidelines that you do, you may not think twice about the disparity. But what if you’ve been dying to go for a walk or run with a longtime exercise buddy whom you haven’t seen lately, except that your friend isn’t being as vigilant about social distancing as you are?

“​This is a challenging time for determining what is ‘safe’ to do,” says Lynn Bufka, PhD, the American Psychological Association’s associate executive director for practice research and policy. “We have conflicting information from different sources, and our determination of risk might differ from others. Each will have to make an individual determination by weighing one’s own risks, family risks, and needs. With that as context, a person will have to make decisions regarding exercise with others.”

Deciding How To Exercise Together

If you’re planning to see a friend from a different household, an outdoor walk or run is less risky than meeting at an indoor track or gym. Public health experts recommend that you stay six feet away from one another and wear masks; however, they recognize that mask usage may not be practical when people are running or exercising at high intensity.

When it’s hot outside and you plan to work up a sweat with an exercise buddy, it may be okay to work out without a mask if you consciously stay at least six feet apart and agree ahead of time to go mask-free in each other’s company, unless the local legislation requires mask-wearing.

“How comfortable are we? What’s our mutual risk tolerance? You can have that conversation,” says William Schaffner, MD, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine in Nashville. “I think six feet is certainly reasonable for no masks. Remember, this is all predicated on the notion that these have both been careful people.”

It’s also important to consider your location, which may impact whether or not it’s safe to exercise without masks.

“Are you in a neighborhood where you only occasionally or rarely encounter others… or are you someplace in a much more metropolitan area or even in a park where there are a lot of people?” Schaffner says. “Let’s say you’re away from people, you’re not close to others. Well, then I think you can more safely exercise without masks. [But] if you’re exercising or walking around others and that density increases, then you really should be wearing a mask.”

Broaching the Topic When Social Distancing Habits Differ

What if you want to walk farther apart and your friend wants to walk closer together, like old times? You may feel awkward discussing the parameters of a proposed walk or run with a friend who isn’t following social distancing guidelines as stringently as you; some people worry that it could cause an argument or that they’ll be perceived as judgmental. If you’re really eager to walk or run with a friend whose habits differ from yours, talk specifics ahead of time, to see if you can agree about how to interact.

“Ideally, friends listen to one another and honor one another’s requests; that is the basis of friendship,” Bufka says. “If someone has a concern about another’s practices, it is best to be straightforward in advance and clarify one’s own practices and inquire about the other person’s behavior.”

Keep in mind that you and your friend may not come to an agreement about logistics, even if you talk for a while.

“Recognize that people do things for different reasons,” says Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, whose areas of expertise include decision-making, risk analysis, and communication. “Expect some misunderstanding. People [tend] to overestimate how well they communicate, especially with new topics. In a personal relationship, that means being alert to signs of talking past one another and ready to clarify what you mean. Your friend may take the cue to do the same.”

It’s possible that your friend may be upset by your request to walk six feet apart or wear masks. It may help if you speak calmly or change the subject if things get intense.

“People can take offense or read judgment into anything we say,” Bufka says. “Trying to stay as neutral as possible and acknowledging that each wants the best for the other may help others hear one another.”

Choosing To Postpone Your Workout

After having an honest discussion with your friend, if you can’t agree on guidelines to follow during your exercise session, it’s okay to bow out.

“If the friend chooses not to respect your requests, you can politely excuse yourself and let the friend know that you will join them another time when it is possible to wear masks, physical distance, or no longer be concerned about transmission of COVID,” Bufka says.

When you let your friend know that you don’t feel comfortable walking or running with them right now, use “I” language, rather than “you” language.

“You can do that in a very nice way and say, ‘I understand… but I’m very conservative… I’m wearing a mask and I’m only around people who wear a mask during this COVID period,’” Schaffner says. “If you listen very carefully to what I said, I didn’t say anything about them. I took it all on myself.”

Being Vigilant While Exercising Together

Although you and your exercise buddy may agree to walk or run without masks, consider whether you’ll truly be able to stay as far apart as you intend. Opting for masks may be the safer option.

“Frankly, I think that six feet will be hard to maintain,” Schaffner says. “I think those people are going to drift closer together. They may not get as close as they usually do. But again, it’s what your risk tolerance is.”

The post How to Exercise With a Friend When Your Social Distancing Practices Differ appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/exercise-social-distancing/

Phytosterols: Boost Your Cholesterol-Lowering Potential

If you need to lower your cholesterol—which is a risk factor for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke—your diet is the place to start. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to 5 to 6 percent of your daily calories, along with minimizing trans fat, which is found in fried foods and foods containing partially hydrogenated oil. A diet that’s high in fiber can also lower your cholesterol levels by up to 10 percent. 

Let’s say you’ve done all of that and still need to get your cholesterol levels down. You may want to add something called plant sterols and stanol esters, or phytosterols, to your diet. 

“Phytosterols are plant components that are similar in structure to cholesterol, which they compete with, for absorption in the body,” explains Robin Foroutan, R.D.N., an integrative dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The less cholesterol you absorb, the lower your cholesterol levels. In fact, consuming phytosterols can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10 percent and your LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol by up to 14 percent, according to the Cleveland Clinic. (Phytosterols don’t affect triglycerides or “good” cholesterol.)

Though all plant foods contain phytosterols, vegetable, nut, and olive oils contain the most. Nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes are also good sources. Most foods with naturally occurring phytosterols contain milligram amounts in the double digits, and the American College of Cardiology recommends 1 to 3 grams of phytosterols per day to reduce your risk of heart disease. (The FDA has approved a health claim that at least 1.3 grams per day as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.) That’s where fortified foods, such as spreads and orange juice, come in. These typically contain half to 1 gram, and sometimes close to 2 grams of phytosterols. “Fortified foods can be really helpful,” says Foroutan. “But they’re only one element in a plant-based diet that supports cardiovascular health.”

That’s where fortified foods, such as spreads and orange juice, come in. These typically contain half to 1 gram, and sometimes close to 2 grams of phytosterols. “Fortified foods can be really helpful,” says Foroutan. “But they’re only one element in a plant-based diet that supports cardiovascular health.”

The post Phytosterols: Boost Your Cholesterol-Lowering Potential appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/phytosterols/

Take a Look at Fitbit’s First-Ever Virtual Launch Experience

If you’re here, you probably already know about our new fall launch products—and how excited we are about them! But did you know that for the first time ever, we also created a virtual launch experience so that you, our Fitbit fam, could tune in from all over the world to learn about our new products and features in a totally new and unique way—despite the fact that many of us are still socially distanced? 

You may be wondering what a virtual product launch looks like. Well, you’re about to find out! Keep reading to learn all about what Fitbit’s virtual launch experience has to offer—and then check it out for yourself. 

Meet Fitbit’s Fall 2020 Lineup 

Keynote. First, join us for a virtual keynote session from Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park, followed by product deep dives on our groundbreaking new health smartwatch Fitbit Sense and the streamlined and motivational Versa 3 from Vice President of Brand and Product Marketing, Lisa Swift. Next, Senior Director of Product Marketing Dennis Hsu will discuss the sleek, discreet, and affordable Inspire 2—and how you can unlock deeper insights, tools, and guidance with your Fitbit Premium membership.¹ Senior Vice President of Design, Jonah Becker closes out the keynote session with a deep dive into design strategy. 

The Future of Fit. Could your Fitbit watch or tracker know you’re sick before you do? Hear from Fitbit co-founder and CTO Eric Friedman and Dr. Mike Snyder of Stanford University as they discuss the results of our recent COVID-19 study, advancements Fitbit and top researchers are making together, and all about how the research we’re doing at Fitbit ties into potential early illness detection and deeper understanding of chronic conditions. 

Be HeartFit. Want to know more about improving your heart health? (Us, too. Always!) Dr. Shelten Yuen and Dr. Tony Faranesh of Fitbit’s Research team talk about Fitbit’s leading heart health innovation, including our heart-rate tracking technology and the newest features available, including an all-new ECG app to analyze your heart rhythm for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and high and low heart rate notifications.² 

Be MindFit. Feeling stressed? Ever wonder how it impacts your overall health? Fitbit’s Research Scientists, Dr. Samy Abdel-Ghaffar and Dr. Belen Lafon, along with Dr. Helen Weng of UCSF, break down what stress can do to the body and mind—and how Fitbit can help you track, understand, and manage it. If you’re curious about our mindfulness and stress tools for Fitbit Sense, or what’s available in the Fitbit app or your new 6-month trial to Fitbit Premium, you’re in the right place.

Be BodyFit. Ready to hit your yoga mat? Join yoga instructor and Sisters of Yoga co-founder Phyllicia Bonanno for an extra-special 20-minute yoga flow and meditation with Fitbit. No matter what your routine has looked like in the past few months, this flow will be equal parts restorative and challenging for mind and body alike. 

Product Display. Take a closer look at all of the new products and accessories, including the epic new designer collections from Pendleton and Victor Glemaud.³ You can even pre-order your new Fitbit watch or tracker directly from the showcase.

Interested in experiencing our innovative virtual experience for yourself? Join us and escape to the Future of Fit. 

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¹Content and features subject to change.

²The Fitbit ECG app is only available in select countries, not intended for use by people under 22 years old. See fitbit.com/ecg for additional details.

³Accessories sold separately.

The post Take a Look at Fitbit’s First-Ever Virtual Launch Experience appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/virtual-launch/

Have Healthier Habits These Days? 3 Tricks to Hold On to Them

While life since March has been pretty far from ideal (how’s that for an understatement), you might have noticed one silver lining to things. Without days spent commuting to work, driving your kids to 1,000 different extracurriculars, or squeezing in dinners out with friends, there was all of a sudden way more time to spend on healthy habits like exercising and cooking meals. This was definitely true during the early days: Our data showed 42 percent of Fitbit users were logging more active minutes, aka exercise, this April compared to a year earlier.

But as life starts to inch its way back to normal, you might worry about those healthy habits going by the wayside. And with good reason: These days, most Fitbit users’ active minutes have returned to normal levels. Eager to hold on to those good-for-you behaviors you adopted while staying at home? Here’s how to make sure they stay a part of your life for years to come:

Keep as much as you can constant. While there are things you want to have change about your life (getting to see friends and family more, for one!), make sure to keep the specifics surrounding your workouts or cooking routine as similar as possible. 

Research shows doing that can help keep habits going strong. If you ran right after waking up during lockdown, try to keep doing it at that same time and follow the same route. If you would always meet up with a friend for your daily walks, keep meeting up with that same friend. “This way, even though the circumstances have changed, the specifics around your working out is somewhat stable and constant,” says Wendy Wood, a provost professor of psychology and business at University of Southern California.

Make it easy on yourself. The more complicated or time-consuming it is to do something healthy, the less likely you are to keep at it when life gets hectic again. Get around this with a few simplifying tricks. “Make extra any time you cook so you can have leftovers the next day,” says Joan Salge Blake, RDN, clinical professor at Boston University and author of Nutrition & You. “And spend less time in the kitchen by using your crockpot and relying on frozen vegetables that are already cleaned and chopped!” 

This make-it-easy approach works for exercise too. “Set out your workout clothes and shoes the night before if you want to exercise in the morning,” says Wood. They sound small, but these little actions can make a big difference to motivation.

Focus on how good your healthy habits make you feel. Have you loved how energized your morning walks have made you? Do you feel great after cooking a veggie-filled meal from scratch? Noticing those positive effects can make sticking with habits down the road a lot easier. “This is the time to take stock of what has been feeling good,” says Julie Emmerman, a sport, performance, and clinical psychotherapist specializing in professional athletes. “If you stay mindful as things get busier again, it naturally lends itself to wanting to keep committed to those behaviors.” 

This is something Blake encourages as well. “Sit down and make a list about why you might be happier now,” she says. Is it prioritizing family dinners? A morning yoga routine? Identifying exactly what’s making you feel good will help you know what to prioritize as life revs up again.

The post Have Healthier Habits These Days? 3 Tricks to Hold On to Them appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/hold-onto-healthier-habits/

Identify AFib Early On with Fitbit’s New On-Wrist ECG Technology

In the average lifetime our heart beats 2.5 billion times, working 24 hours a day, without a break—that’s a lot, and here at Fitbit, we appreciate just how important each heart beat is. We have been focused on helping users keep their hearts healthy from our earliest days with our PurePulse continuous heart rate technology, which is the foundation for so many of the features that we have today—like Cardio Fitness Level, Sleep Stages, Sleep Score, SpO2, High and Low Heart Rate Notifications, and Active Zone Minutes. These tools give our users deeper insights into their bodies and will continue to help people around the world.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve introduced our most advanced heart health technology yet that assesses your heart rhythm for atrial fibrillation (AFib), a heart rhythm irregularity, right from your wrist using the compatible ECG app on the Fitbit Sense.¹ The Fitbit ECG App will be available starting in October in the US, certain European countries, and Hong Kong.²

What is ECG?

An electrocardiogram, or ECG, is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your heart. ECG tests help your doctor detect heart problems, such as AFib. AFib is an electrical problem in the heart where the upper chambers—called the atria—beat erratically, which causes the heart to beat in an irregular rhythm. However, it can be difficult to detect while you’re at the doctor’s as it’s inconsistent and can come and go at any point. 

One way Fitbit helps identify AFib is with a spot check on your Fitbit Sense—using the compatible ECG app on your wrist, Fitbit Sense lets you check your heart rhythm for AFib on demand. Why is this important? The spot check can be taken by people at any time, including whenever they notice any unusual symptoms.

How does the ECG app work? 

So, what’s the science behind it all? Well, your heart generates electrical activity that is responsible for the pumping action of the heart. Enter the two electrical sensors on the Fitbit Sense, one on the top and another on the bottom. By making contact with one sensor on your wrist and the other with your opposite hand, you create a closed electrical circuit, which lets the ECG app record the electrical signals from your heart and analyze them for AFib.

How do I get started?

Simply open the ECG app on your Fitbit Sense and hold your fingers on the corners of the stainless steel ring around the watch while being still for 30 seconds. After assessing your heart rhythm, you’ll receive a reading from the ECG app showing you if your heart rhythm appears normal, shows signs of AFib, or if the assessment was inconclusive.

You can check your results both on-wrist and in the Fitbit mobile app (available in the Assessments & Report section of the Fitbit app). Your results can also be downloaded and exported into a PDF that you can share with your doctor. 

Why is the ECG app with the Fitbit Sense important?

At Fitbit, our ethos is driven by the desire to make the world a healthier place, which includes heart health. Normally, your heart beats in a regular rhythm like a metronome—when you have AFib, your heart beats in an irregular rhythm, which can lead to a stroke. AFib currently affects more than 33.5 million people globally. Fitbit’s new compatible ECG app on the Fitbit Sense can help users identify AFib and help get a better understanding of their heart.

This tool equips users with personalized information and knowledge of their heart rhythm, which gives the opportunity to have a more informed conversation with their doctor. This is important because with AFib, the heart may not always beat irregularly, making it hard to detect, and according to some studies “over two million people in the U.S. may be walking time-bombs as they don’t feel any symptoms at all, but are at risk for an AFib-related stroke.” While the ECG app can’t diagnose AFib, the results can help individuals have a better conversation with their doctor.

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¹ The Fitbit ECG app is only available in select countries; not intended for use by people under 22 years old. See fitbit.com/ecg for additional details.

² Available starting in October in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, and Hong Kong.

The post Identify AFib Early On with Fitbit’s New On-Wrist ECG Technology appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/ecg-fitbit-sense/

Healthy Recipe: Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

If you’re looking for a way to incorporate more salads into your day, or just add some variety to your current recipe rotation, look no further than this recipe. This salad packs a pint of fresh fruit into the dressing to bring you a bright pink color, and an even brighter flavor. The dijon and shallot work together with the fresh raspberries to balance the sweet and savory. The walnuts and goat cheese add a bonus protein boost, while also bringing a creamy and crunchy textural element to the meal.

If you’re vegan, swap the cheese for tofu. However you mix up your salad topping, this is sure to be a recipe you’ll come back to time and time again. Pair it with a piece of grilled fish to round out the meal.  

INGREDIENTS:

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ shallot

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh pepper

½ teaspoon dijon mustard

2 cups fresh raspberries

For the salad:

4 cups washed spinach

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

¼ cup chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Place all of the ingredients for the dressing, except for the olive oil, in the bowl of a food processor with the blade attached. Blend until combined.

Turn the food processor back on and slowly drizzle in olive oil.

Remove the lid and check the consistency, if you want a thinner dressing add one teaspoon more of vinegar and mix until combined.

Place spinach and walnuts in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat the leaves. Top with crumbled goat cheese and serve. 

Makes four servings (as a side dish). 

NUTRITION FACTS (PER SERVING):

Calories 290

Protein 5 g

Total fat 26 g

Saturated fat 5 g

Cholesterol 5 mg

Carbs 11 g

Fiber 6 g

Total sugars 4 g

Added sugars 0 g

Sodium 230 mg

The post Healthy Recipe: Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/spinach-salad-raspberry-vinaigrette/

The Benefits of Training in Targeted Zones

September is AFib Awareness Month, and at Fitbit, we’re helping you to learn more through content that focuses on all things heart health throughout the month. Click here for more blog posts in the series.

Your heart rate provides a window into your workout. The number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm) indicates your exercise intensity.

Smartwatches and trackers make it easy to monitor your heart rate. Such wearable devices can also determine your target heart rate zones for exercise. These are derived using a calculation such as the Karvonen formula (also called the heart rate reserve method), which takes both your maximum heart rate and resting heart rate into consideration. Learn more about heart rate zones.

These personal “target zones” facilitate heart rate zone training. By quantifying your exercise intensity, you can get the most out of your workout. (Fitbit’s note: The Active Zone Minutes feature gives you personal target heart rate zones. Learn more about Active Zone Minutes.)

For example, depending on your goals—increasing endurance, say, or burning fat for weight management—you would adjust your exercise intensity up or down. Since your wearable device tells you when you’re in your “cardio zone” or “fat-burning zone,” it makes heart rate zone training easy to try for beginners. 

Specific goals aside, target heart rate zones can help you reach more general physical activity goals. Experts recommend 150+ minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise (think fat-burning zone) or 75+ minutes per week of vigorous exercise (with your heart rate in the cardio zone). 

Powered by the American Heart Association. 

The post The Benefits of Training in Targeted Zones appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/heart-rate-zone-training-aha/

The Truth About Soy

Soy is having an identity crisis. For years, we’ve heard it can lower cholesterol and improve heart health. But now, foods that claim to be soy-free are popping up everywhere. If you’re wondering what gives, here’s what you need to know.

You’re unlikely to be allergic to it. Lately, lots of people are steering clear of soy for fear of food allergies. No one would argue that having a soy allergy is serious business, but it rarely strikes adults. In fact, soy allergy only affects 0.4 percent of children, most of whom will outgrow it by age 10. So while some people really do need to avoid soy, the numbers are way less scary than they may seem. 

It’s jammed with nutrition. This bean is loaded with high quality protein (20 grams per cup of shelled edamame, to be exact). In fact, it’s one of the few plant foods that provide complete protein, meaning it delivers all the essential amino acids your body needs to synthesize its own protein supply. At the same time, it’s packed with fiber for healthy digestion. For example, one cup of shelled edamame delivers 12 grams’ worth. That’s as much as you’d net from three servings of oatmeal. In addition, it’s rich in blood pressure-lowering potassium and magnesium, a mineral that helps our bodies use insulin more efficiently.

It doesn’t cause breast cancer. Soy is naturally rich in isoflavones, substances that structurally resemble estrogen. Why might that be problematic?

“Some people are still wary of very old animal research suggesting that isoflavones can increase estrogen levels, raising the risk of breast cancer,” says Karen Collins, MS, RDN, a nutrition advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research. “But the way isoflavones are metabolized in animals is very different than in humans, plus the doses used are so far beyond what is possible with human consumption that it’s a crazy comparison.”

Today, the thinking on soy and breast cancer has practically done a 180. So much so that the American Cancer Society says the benefits of eating soy outweigh any potential risks. 

It’s safe for guys too. What about the supposed estrogen-like impact of soy for men? “The idea that isoflavones turn into estrogen in the body is based on fear and misunderstanding,” says Collins. “There’s an extensive body of research that finds no decrease in testosterone, no increase in circulating estrogen, and no changes in sperm among men who consume soy.” And when it comes to prostate cancer, several studies suggest it may even be protective. 

It’s really good for your heart. Unlike animal protein, such as meat, eggs, and dairy, soy is low in saturated fat and contains zero cholesterol. As it turns out, it may even help people with high cholesterol trim unhealthy LDL cholesterol by 4.2 to 6.7 mg/dL. But that’s not as easy as tossing the occasional soy-based protein bar in your gym bag. To really reap soy’s cholesterol-lowering powers, you’ll have to eat 25 grams of soy protein a day, which is the equivalent of 3 ounces of tofu, 1 soy burger, and a half-cup of edamame. 

The type you choose matters. “Soy doesn’t suddenly turn an otherwise unhealthy food into a healthy one,” says Collins. “If a food is high in sugar, fat, and calories, soy isn’t going to undo its harmful effects.” Truth is, soy only improves heart health when it replaces other less healthy proteins as part of a diet that’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol. So think of soy as a substitute for animal products, instead of an addition to your diet.

Need ideas? Swap in soy milk for cow’s milk, spread soy butter on whole-wheat toast, sear a tofu teriyaki steak, or toss tempeh into tacos. Your heart will thank you.

The post The Truth About Soy appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/truth-about-soy/

Track Your SpO2 to Uncover Changes in Your Wellbeing

At Fitbit, we are always working to identify new ways we can tell you more about your body and your wellness with new and existing technology. As part of our ongoing feature development, we have enhanced how we measure your estimated blood oxygen saturation. We’re excited to announce that in select markets, you can access it through the free SpO2 Signature clock face on your smartwatch, so that you can track potential changes in your wellbeing.* 

What is Oxygen Saturation (SpO2)?

Blood oxygenation is a crucial part of your body properly metabolizing the energy it needs to function at an optimal level. Our bodies distribute oxygenated blood to every part of our body—and SpO2 is the level of oxygen in your blood. 

Oxygen levels in blood tend to remain relatively constant, even during exercise and sleep. If the cardiorespiratory system is working and a person is breathing room air, typically most of the blood’s oxygen carrying capacity is used, so that blood oxygen saturation during the day is generally between 95 and 100 percent. When blood oxygen saturation levels are significantly lower than normal, it can be detrimental to the functioning of the body. 

Nighttime SpO2 is usually lower than daytime SpO2 due to the fact that the total amount of air you breathe in tends to drop during sleep. In general, SpO2 values during sleep are typically above 90 percent. Tracking SpO2 can help you be more aware of your oxygen saturation trends during sleep, which may help you learn when there may be an indication of important changes in your fitness and wellness. 

Of course, everyone’s oxygen levels are different. If you want to see your SpO2 trends over time, you’ll be able to view them in the new Health Metrics dashboard, coming soon to Fitbit Premium members.**

How We Measure SpO2

There are several ways to evaluate the oxygen saturation in your blood. One method involves actually getting a sample of blood and using laboratory chemistry equipment to measure oxygen saturation, and while this is one approach, it is not practical for many uses. That’s why it became common to use pulse oximeters, which use optical techniques to non-invasively measure SpO2.

How does it work? Deoxygenated blood, which is returned to your lungs via your veins, is a slightly darker red color than the fully oxygenated blood in your arteries and arterioles (small blood vessels that bring oxygenated blood to your tissues). By using Fitbit sensors to measure the relative reflection of red and infrared light from your blood via your wrist, and seeing how it varies as your heart beats, we can estimate your SpO2 value. 

It’s important to note that Fitbit does not measure or display SpO2 values below 80 percent. Fitbit SpO2 data is not intended for medical purposes, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. The data provided by Fitbit SpO2 is intended to be a close estimation of your blood oxygen saturation levels, but may not be precisely accurate. You should not use or rely on Fitbit SpO2 for any medical purposes. 

Get Started

With the SpO2 Signature clock face, your Fitbit smartwatch (Fitbit Ionic, Versa family, and Fitbit Sense) will track your average SpO2 levels while you’re sleeping. To get started, once it is available, install the SpO2 clock face, then go to sleep wearing your smartwatch with the clock face, and within about an hour of waking up, you’ll be able to see your average SpO2 and range. Plus, you can expect more SpO2 clock faces soon to come in 2020! 

If you have a Fitbit Premium membership, you will be able to check your trends in the upcoming Health Metrics dashboard. Want to learn more about what you can expect with Health Metrics? Read all about the new dashboard here. 

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Not available in all markets. This feature is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition or for any other medical purpose. It is intended to help you manage your well being and keep track of your information.

*Not available in all markets. Availability will be rolling. You should not rely on SpO2 for any medical purposes. 

**Coming soon. The Health Metrics dashboard and the metrics displayed in the dashboard are not available in all countries. The Health Metrics dashboard is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition and should not be relied on for any medical purposes. 

The post Track Your SpO2 to Uncover Changes in Your Wellbeing appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

source https://blog.fitbit.com/track-your-spo2/