Mussel supplement helps your muscles recover after workout
Lashes length key to healthy peepers
Forget fake eyelashes: the optimal eyelash length is one-third the width of the eye, say researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. They ran tests on 22 species of mammals, from humans to giraffes. This length kept the eye moist for a longer time and kept particles away. Any shorter or longer increased airflow around the eye and led to more dust hitting the surface. They note that people who can't grow eyelashes could wear fake ones, if they're the correct length, for extra protection and to reduce dry eye. "Even if they're not the correct length, more eyelashes are always better than fewer," says researcher Alexander Alexeev.
How mussels help muscles
A marine oil supplement derived from mussels could help you recover from your workout quicker, a new study from Indiana University in the US shows. The study put 32 men who exercised fewer than three times a week, for less than 30 minutes each time, through a muscle-damaging exercise session. They were given either the marine oil supplement or a placebo for 26 days before the session, and for 96 hours after. Those given the supplement showed less muscle soreness, less muscle pain, less strength loss, less fatigue and less inflammatory proteins in their bloodstreams. The study was funded by the supplement's developer PharmaLink International and published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
The benefits of exercise in a pill
A University of Virginia School of Medicine scientist has magnified a benefit of exercise seen in mice to provide a "profound" protection from diabetic cardiomyopathy, a potentially deadly condition that affects many diabetics. In mice, enhancing production of the antioxidant EcSOD - which is produced in skeletal muscle and promoted by regular exercise - protected them from the damaging effects of diabetic cardiomyopathy, such as stiffening and enlargement of the heart, which can lead to heart failure. The researchers hope to find ways to develop an "exercise pill" that stimulates the production of EcSOD.