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Fit or Fad

Fit or Fad

Written by: Samantha Wanderer
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 Does the health and fitness industry actually improve the lives of its consumers? Since its boom, fads and money-grabbing schemes have controlled the industry. Fit or Fad explores trends in the industry like: Does the Keto diet actually work? Can you really not gain muscle if you’re eating vegan? Is “toning” even possible? Host Samantha Wanderer talks to professionals in the health and fitness industry to answer this question for each topic: is this a fit practice or is it just a fad?Samantha Wanderer Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • Science, sports and supporting transwomen

    Science, sports and supporting transwomen
    Apr 20 2021
    There is an ongoing debate in the US and internationally over whether it is fair and safe for transwomen to play on teams or against CIS women, who are people who were assigned female at birth and their gender identity is female. The topic has been growing particularly here in the United States in recent weeks as more than thirty states have already passed laws that require transgender athletes to play for the team that goes against their gender identity. What many of the debates are missing is the question of what, if any, hormones transwomen have taken or are taking.  There are currently some accepted guidelines based off very sparse research surrounding what the appropriate level of testosterone for transwomen is to compete on women’s sports teams, but much more research needs to be done. One person who is involved in a study looking at the science behind including transwomen on women’s sports teams is Blair Hamilton. She currently is pursuing her PhD at Brighton University in the UK and is working with a team on the Tavistock Transgender Athlete Study, which is specifically looking at how to integrate transwomen and differences of sex development athletes into elite women's sport. She is a transwoman herself and has played football, soccer as we call it here in the US, since she was young, even playing for University of Aberdeen while she pursued her undergraduate degree in exercise and health science. Here’s what she had to say.
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    38 mins
  • Students need mental health support, too.

    Students need mental health support, too.
    Apr 6 2021
    The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the education system to its core. Students have had to say goodbye to their friends and teachers, and parents have had to take on new roles as learning facilitators at home. Mental health in students has suffered as a result.  To find out what the specific impacts of the pandemic have been on children, I spoke to Aaron White, LPCC and PPS. We continued our conversation about mental health during the pandemic from episode eight.  Here's what he had to say.
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    19 mins
  • Vaccination before vacation

    Vaccination before vacation
    Mar 23 2021
    Vaccines. They've been a topic of controversy among some for years. And even after a year of closures, cancellations, and quarantines, some people are still hesitant about receiving the Covid-19 vaccines.  Many other people are waiting their turn in eager anticipation to receive a dose. Once enough people are fully vaccinated, there is a chance that some form of normalcy will return. To meet the demand, teams of researchers around the world have worked to create dozens of different vaccines in record time. Of those potential vaccines, several have made their way successfully through testing, and are now being administered in the arms of patients in the US and abroad.  Now, there are several vaccines in the US and UK that are approved, or on the road to approval for emergency use. To find out more, I spoke to Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce. She’s a UK healthcare reporter for Business Insider, which is a technology and business news website. She is also a doctor in the NHS. She has been closely following the vaccine developments in recent weeks, here’s what she had to say.
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    21 mins
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