31
Mar

Manage Stress With Exercise

Posted by: Curt | Under: 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Spiritual/Emotional, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


Most people apparently don’t realize that their body was not designed to live and thrive without exercise. Or maybe they do and they are just lazy… In our fast paced culture, we tend to think that because we are tired from the day to day grind, that exercise will only make us more tired. Yet the great paradox is that we need exercise to cope with the day to day stress of life. And this isn’t just physical, it is emotional as well. That is one of the reasons that the most prescribed drug in America is anti-depressants… next most prescribed drugs? You guessed it blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs. It’s not hard to see the correlation. If people would simply exercise the way their body was designed to, many of their ailments would go away.

So with that in mind, check out this post over at Anxiety Insights. Stress has a huge impact on health. One of the most important ways of dealing with stress is exercise. There are all sorts of ways to exercise, but I still think that the most beneficial is weight training. Other forms are not bad, but weight training is shown to have many positive effects that other types of exercise can’t give you like improved strength, muscle tone , bone density and  tendon/ligament  strength. So get to the gym and do something- anything! You will feel the difference, both physically and emotionally.

29
Mar

Back Pain Psychology

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


As a chronic back pain sufferer, I often wonder how much is physical and how much is psychological. Mine is related to a specific injury and is pretty well controlled with exercise, stretching, and anti-inflammatories. But, there is a lot of evidence that typical treatments are not effective for most people, and now, there is growing evidence that psychological treatments are far more effective. Check out the article over at MSN Health for all the details. It is long, but very much worth reading. Fascinating stuff.
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The conventional medical treatment for back pain follows a predictable script. After the patient is interviewed and given a physical exam, he or she undergoes a series of diagnostic tests. This normally includes x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. The end result is an astonishing array of detailed anatomical pictures. Doctors no longer need to imagine the layers of tissue underneath the skin. Now they can see everything.

Unfortunately, all this seeing has limited results. After undergoing the full range of diagnostic tests, 85 percent of patients suffering from lower-back pain still don’t receive a precise diagnosis. The pain can’t be pinpointed; there are just too many moving parts. Instead, their suffering is parceled into a vague category, such as lumbar strain or spinal instability. But even when a patient is given a specific structural diagnosis, it’s not clear how meaningful the diagnosis actually is. Look, for example, at herniated disks, one of the most common “causes” of back pain. A 1994 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine imaged the spinal regions of 98 people with no back pain or back-related problems. The pictures were then sent to doctors who didn’t know that the patients were not in pain. The end result was disturbing: Eighty percent of the pain-free patients exhibited “serious problems” such as bulging, protruding, or herniated disks. In 38 percent of patients, the MRIs revealed multiple damaged disks. The disconnect between “disk degeneration” and back pain increases with age: More than 80 percent of people over the age of 60 who don’t have any back pain still demonstrate significant disk degeneration. These structural spinal abnormalities are often used to justify expensive treatments like surgery, and yet nobody would advocate surgery for people without pain. In the latest clinical guidelines issued by the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society, doctors were strongly recommended not to “obtain imaging or other diagnostic tests in patients with nonspecific low back pain.” In too many cases, the expensive tests proved worse than useless.

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Chances are that you know someone with chronic back pain- so pass the article on to them

27
Mar

Big Belly Raises Alzheimer’s Risk

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


fat-lady.jpgSome previous studies have shown that people who carry their excess weight around their waist are at higher risk for developing diabetes and heart problems. Now, a new study shows that a big belly has another possible serious consequence- Alzheimer’s. Reuters has an article with the details and it looks like we will have an epidemic of Alzheimer’s in the near future.

I think that at the very least, you can surmise that the lifestyle that results in a big belly has a lot of negative consequences that people need to be aware of.  Personally, I’d rather go fast from a massive heart attack than to slowly lose my mind from Alzheimer’s. I guess either are a distinct possibility for millions of Americans.

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Their study tracked 6,583 people in northern California for an average of 36 years starting when they were ages 40 to 45. Their abdominal size was measured at the outset of the study.

A total of 1,049 of them — nearly 16 percent — went on to develop Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia by the time they reached their 70s. Those in the upper 20 percent in terms of belly size in middle age were almost three times more likely to develop dementia than those in the bottom 20 percent of belly size, the researchers found.

25
Mar

40 Years Of Aerobics

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


The aerobics “era” started 40 years ago by Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s book has had a large impact on the way people think about health, exercise and longevity. But a lot of newer research points in some other directions. Male Pattern Fitness has a really good post explaining some of the accepted preconceptions and why they are wrong. I have long held that given the choice between 1/2 hour of running and 1/2 hour of weight training, you are way better off with the weight training because if you super-set and turn up the speed a little, you will obviously get some aerobic benefit. Check it out…

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Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s Aerobics, one of the most important books in the history of fitness publishing, came out in March 1968. I have mixed feelings about the anniversary. If you’ve read The New Rules of Lifting or The New Rules of Lifting for Women, you know I take umbrage with this passage, which appears in the book’s first chapter:

“I’ll state my position early. The best exercises are running, swimming, cycling, walking, stationary running, handball, basketball and squash, and in just about that order. Isometrics, weight lifting and calisthenics, though good as far as they go, don’t even make the list, despite the fact that most exercise books are based on one of these three.”

A similarly disputable argument appears in the introduction, written by Richard Bohannon, former surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force:

Longevity does not depend on the strength and tone of the muscles of the arms, legs, or abdominal wall. According to our present understanding of the matter, it is much more likely, in the absence of organic disease elsewhere, to depend on the capability of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems to withstand the stresses of modern living.

That was probably a good guess for 1968, and elsewhere in the introduction Dr. Bohannon is much more generous and expansive in his consideration that all types of exercise — including those that maintain or improve joint mobility — are valuable.

But it’s wrong.

Read the rest here-

24
Mar

When to Eat

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


One of the biggest problems for many people is overeating because they have gotten so hungry that they stuff themselves. MSN has a good article about the different stages of hunger and how they affect our eating habits. One of the worst things you can do is to wait until you are starving to eat. One of the best things you can do is to eat every 2-3 hours so that you never get that super hungry feeling. By eating 6 small meals (some of them only snacks), you can control you appetite and actually lose weight. The added benefit is that your blood sugar levels will stay much more even during the day and you will feel better- none of the sleepiness after eating that huge lunch since you didn’t eat a huge lunch! Check out the diet tab at the top of the page for a good 6 meal per day outline. It really will help you feel better and lose weight.

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Do you really know what hunger feels like? Before you can rein it in, you must learn to recognize the physical cues that signal a true need for nourishment. Prior to eating, use our hunger scale below to help figure out your true food needs:

Starving

An uncomfortable, empty feeling that may be accompanied by light-headedness or jitteriness caused by low blood sugar levels from lack of food. Binge risk: high.

Hungry

Your next meal is on your mind. If you don’t eat within the hour, you enter dangerous “starving” territory.

Moderately hungry

Your stomach may be growling, and you’re planning how you’ll put an end to that nagging feeling. This is optimal eating time.

Satisfied

You’re satiated, not full but not hungry either. You’re relaxed and comfortable and can wait to nosh.

Full

If you’re still eating, it’s more out of momentum than actual hunger. Your belly feels slightly bloated, and the food does not taste as good as it did in the first few bites.

Stuffed

You feel uncomfortable and might even have mild heartburn from your stomach acids creeping back up into your esophagus.

To slim down: The best time to eat is when you are “moderately hungry” or “hungry” — when you hit either of these stages, you’ve used most of the energy from your last meal or snack but you haven’t yet hit the point where you will be driven to binge.

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22
Mar

All You Can Eat Sports Tickets

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


Wow, I guess this shouldn’t surprise me, but it does.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. And some more. And more.

A growing trend in all-you-can-eat seating at sports venues is making baseball’s summer chorus sound more like “Take Me Out to the Buffet.”

Dozens of arenas, stadiums and tracks have offered tickets that come with unlimited snacks. The seats have been a hit with fans, a moneymaker for the venues and a worry for obesity-conscious health officials.

The result is like a giant hot dog on a hook — a way for teams to lure new fans to their games or get old ones to switch to higher-priced sections. In the past, unlimited food and drink was reserved for luxury suites, which cost up to six figures a year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers first offered all-you-can-eat seats in their right-field bleacher pavilion last season. They averaged 2,200 fans per game in a section that typically opened only when the left-field bleachers were full.

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Read the whole ugly story over at MSNBC. As my friend from Brazil likes to say “Only in America”.

 

20
Mar

Eat Slower to Lower Diabetes Risk

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


Some new research done by the Japanese suggests that eating too fast (the only way Americans eat!) can significantly increase you risk for developing type II diabetes. This is important because if you can reduce someone’s chances of developing diabetes by simply getting them to eat slower, it would be a far superior solution when compared to drugs and insulin. Read the whole post over at Dr. Mirkin’s blog.

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An interesting study from Japan suggests that eating fast is a risk factor for diabetes. Researchers at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Aichi studied middle-aged men and women and found that the faster a person ate, the more likely he or she was to be fat (Preventive Medicine, February 2008). Furthermore, both insulin levels and blood sugar levels were higher in people who ate faster. High insulin and blood sugar levels are markers for being diabetic or at risk for developing type II diabetes.

18
Mar

Building Muscle, Builds Your Brain

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


An interesting article over at Male Pattern Fitness talks about the relationship between exercise and brain function. Anyone who has ever spent any time exercising strenuously, knows that you always feel better and sharper after working out. Some of that is just increased blood flow and oxygen to the brain. But there is evidence that there are long term effects as well-

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In the ’90s, we learned in a big study [by UC Irvine neuroscientist Carl Cotman] that exercise is one of the factors that delayed the onset of cognitive decline. That surprised a lot of people and no one knew how to account for it. The assumption was that exercise didn’t act on the brain. We also knew there was a thing called BDNF — brain-derived neurotrophic factor [a protein that helps build and maintain the cell circuitry in the brain]. Another study [also by Cotman] showed exercise elevates BDNF. It truly is Miracle-Gro for the brain.

In the interview, he goes on to hit some of the highlights of the book’s message:

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Well, I pretty much hate working out in the morning since I generally lift pretty heavy and I’m usually just to stiff and sore in the morning. But, it is definately worth trying if you are the morning type.

17
Mar

Eat This, Not That

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment


I’ve referred to this book/site in the past because they specialize in behind the scenes nutrition info on restaraunts and how to skip the deadly stuff- and what to replace it with. Now you can sign up for a weekly email over at Men’s Health. Hopefully, they won’t spam you to death and you get just the good stuff!

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Each week, the Eat This, Not That! email newsletter will take you behind the menus at America’s top chains and help you make easy choices that will save you pounds.All the research and inside info that is helping millions lose weight is headed your way.Sign up now and you’ll receive a free newsletter packed with the kind of surprising information that can improve your life starting today.

15
Mar

Curing Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol with Diet

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit | Add Comment


MSN has a good article outlining three diet plans that help stabilize and reverse these common deadly problems. All of them are a pretty radical departure form the typical American crap diet and they all require an exercise plan. But… they all work. The interesting thing is that the participants all said that after the initial shock of eating right and exercising, they felt much better and most were able to quit taking all of their prescription meds. Now, I’m sure that there were failures as well, but the fact remains that most of what ails people in our culture today can be cured with a good diet and exercise.

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The DASH diet for lowering Blood Pressure-

It’s old-fashioned, wholesome fare: more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products than what’s found in the typical American diet—and less red meat, sweets, added sugar, and sugary drinks. DASH is rich in protein and fiber, as well as potassium, magnesium, and calcium — minerals known to help control blood pressure.

Scientists developed DASH on a hunch. Studies had shown that magnesium, potassium, and calcium helped regulate blood pressure, but supplements never seemed to work as well. So researchers at a number of major institutions created and tested a diet loaded with foods that contain those minerals.

It’s likely that DASH’s nutrients help blood vessels relax; studies show that the diet lowers blood pressure dramatically and fast, says Njeri Karanja, PhD, senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, one of the institutions that helped design and test the eating plan. “The size of the reduction is amazing,” Karanja says — big enough to get many people with high blood pressure out of the danger range. Scientists say that if everyone followed the diet, Americans would have 15% less coronary heart disease and 27% fewer strokes.

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Check out the whole article and you will be surprised at the results that can be obtained with diet and exercise. Pass it on to a friend or family member who needs to hear about it. It may save their life.