Daily Fasting Keeps You Lean, Fit, Healthy (Even On a Poor Diet!)

Not eating for most of the 24-hour day might be really good for your health and keep you from becoming obese, according to new research. Fitness scientists from Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that people who increase their "fasting hours" every day can avoid the bad health effects of eating a diet high in fat. In fact, mice who did exactly that were able to avoid becoming obese, getting diabetes, and developing diseased livers -- all normal effects of eating a high-fat diet on a regular basis. More specificially, mice who could only eat during an 8-hour period were much healthier (and leaner) than mice who could eat freely throughout the day, regardless of what they ate. According to one researcher:

"Our findings, however, suggest that regular eating times and fasting for a significant number of hours a day might be beneficial to our health."

Read more: Extended Daily Fasting Overrides Harmful Effects of a High-Fat Diet

Snoring Gives You Cancer

Yes you read that right: snoring a lot can greatly increase your risk of getting cancer, mainly because it reduces the amount of oxygen in your body.

The good news is that maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and doing regular exercise can really reduce snoring problems. Through in a healthy diet filled with anti-oxidant rich fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, etc and you will really cut down on your cancer risk anyway!

Read more: Snoring 'can raise cancer risk five-fold'

Drop Dead Health and Caveman Workouts

"Stunt book" author AJ Jacobs decided to get into shape when his body began looking like "a snake that swallowed a goat" and his wife started worrying about him dying at a young age. So he began a months-long quest to lose weight, build muscle, be healthier, and get fit... and chronicled it all in his new book Drop Dead Healthy.

I've read part of it and it's definitely good fitness reading, especially for regular joe's looking for motivation and advice for getting into shape. Plus it's just funny as hell. Jacobs recently did an interview with MNN.com where he talks about his book and his fitness journey.

The best part:

"I loved the Caveman Workout, in which my fellow cavemen and I went into Central Park, took off our shirts and shoes, and tossed boulders and stalked imaginary prey."

We love caveman-style workouts too because they're a great excuse to throw big rocks and sticks at trees, animals, and the occasional human.

Read the interview!

Natural "Brain Drugs" Turned Us Into Endurance Athletes

Ever wonder why us humans (well some of us at least) love to go for long runs and do other forms of endurance exercise? Most animals don't share that trait, so what sets us apart? New research has found that the natural brain drugs responsible for the "runner's high" effect -- called endocanabinoids and endorphins -- caused us to evolve into biped distance runners.

Very intesting stuff here: Runner's High Motivated the Evolution of Exercise, Research Suggests

Exercise & Caffeine Both Do Good Things to Muscle DNA

Here's some good news for coffee lovers, energy drink junkies, and exercise fanatics: caffeine and exercise seem to affect muscle DNA in similar ways. Researchers from the University of Barcelona have found that exercising for even just a few minutes causes rapid beneficial changes to muscle DNA. The incredible thing is that consuming caffeine appears to cause similar changes!

This is great news for those of us who like a little pick-me-up energy booster before our HIIT cardio sessions. The study focus on people who didn't workout regularly but experts believe the positive effects are seen in more fit people as well.

The bottom line: We already know caffeine has some big benefits for athletes and people who exercise regularly. So why not do both -- get in some intense exercise and drink some delicious caffeine -- almost every day?? :)

 Read more: Exercise and Caffeine Change Your DNA in the Same Way, Study Suggests