Don’t Take A Vacation From Health

www.utas.edu.au

I just came back from a ten day seminar with a very enlightened view of travelling and health. Let me tell you, when you get 300 people in a conference room and two or three of them have a cold, an interesting phenomenon happens: quite a few in the room will get sick within the next couple of days. Is this a normal thing to happen? Is it merely because the flu bug spreads and we inevitably “catch” it? That’s what we have been educated to believe, but it’s not true.

Let me give you a few pointers. First, when you travel, prepare yourself. Don’t go out to restaurants daily, because you put your health at the mercy of people who aim to please your taste buds, not your health. That will drop your immune system in a hurry, making you susceptible to being sick.

www.coxhealth.com

A little trick I use is to get a hotel room with a bar fridge where I can stock it with plain yogurt, healthy cereals, and veggies. If you can’t book a fridge, bring a cooler, and restock it each day.

I also keep lots of fruits and fresh water on the counter for snacks and hydration. An electric frying pan also works wonders in getting some hot food into you, without having to go out excessively. The local supermarket should supply you with what you can cook daily. It may be a little more work, but the extra effort  sure is a lot easier on the body than getting sick.

The hotel usually has some sort of gym as well. Although I like to hit the weights on the road, on this trip I was not able to do so, and I noticed that the lack of daily physical movement was  starting to make me feel tired at meetings after about the third day.

If you’re like me and you can’t (or don’t want to) exercise while on vacation, then make sure you do so after returning. Good health is a way of life; for the duration of your life. Your body demands positive stress through exercise, as well as good food to fuel it for the demands you place upon it. If you follow these two simple tips, you’re more likely to stay healthy throughout your trip. But even if you do get sick, it won’t last as long or hit as hard because of a stronger immune system. Trust me, it works.

Get Out Of That Used Body And Get Into A New Life!

Jack LaLanne - still a stud at 95 - aliveat95.com

A while back I spoke to a distressed senior who was told that his condition of general weakness and bodily pain was the inevitable result of aging. Now naturally, I disagree with such simple advice, as it is not rooted in wisdom.

Where does the idea come from that age takes away our strength? Is there really a descriptive and precise time marking the homestretch of strength and vitality; of pain and suffering? Or is it that people merely justify their sedentary existence by blaming their age?

The irony of being alive in this age of instant communication – where we are in touch with anyone and everywhere – is that we are now completely out of touch with our own body. We ask others to take care of it because we have forgotten how to nurture and nourish it.

How did we come to this sad state of affairs? We grow from children to adults merely because of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. But the journey is shaped by the way we measure and act upon the choices which confront us. Tremendous consequences (good or bad), come from taking the road well travelled or the road seldom taken. If you control the process of choosing, you control all aspects of life, including a body free of pain and suffering.

Yes, there are many variables and life tends to be unpredictable even if we follow all the rules, but if you buy into the getting-old and weak-is-inevitable theory, then you are probably well into the act of premature aging. Bad habits and gravity may have done a number on the body, but by making some lifestyle changes, it can be redeemed. You need your muscles as much now as you did when you were younger – perhaps even more. How can you enjoy the best years of your life if you haven’t got the energy or ability to get off your couch? Graceful aging means being active and staying healthy into our fifty’s, sixty’s and beyond to feel and act younger than our chronological age.

I’m not talking about fantasizing, cosmetic surgery, implants or any other instant “cure.” That nonsense is for dreamers and deceivers. I’m talking about lifestyle changes that can have you rollerblading at 75 or being in the gym at 100. Is that really so inconceivable?

Let me give you an example of the benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle. Jack LaLanne, the Godfather of Fitness, is now 95 years old. Yet he is still considered one of the fittest men on this planet. His feats of strength would be considered incredible even for a young man, proving that muscle power and good nutrition help the body stand the test of time.

Here’s some advice. Drop the sugar and simple carbohydrates while there is still time. Get rid of too much alcohol, fatty foods, smoking and other body killing compounds. De-stress your life through activity and cleaner living, making the body stronger, rather than weaker. You’ll sail through your golden years without disability and disease; without loss of strength, endurance, flexibility and balance problems. In fact, regular weight bearing exercise can help you reduce your chances of heart disease, regulate blood pressure and boost the good cholesterol, HDL. It also reduces obesity and has been proven to help prevent osteoporosis. In other words, it helps slow the physical (not biological – sorry) aging process.

“Too old” and “too frail” are not good enough reason to keep you from becoming more active.

Lifestyle Choices Underpin Childhood Obesity

www.msnbc.msn.com

Until recently the battle of the bulge has been fought primarily by adults. Today, however, the largest growing segments among the obese are our children and adolescents. With this new epidemic comes grave health consequences for future generations. While scientists are busy looking at genetic factors, hormonal imbalances, and drugs to correct these problems, the greatest culprits are largely being ignored: namely poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.

Over the past two decades, rates of overweight and obesity have nearly tripled among Canadian children, according to a 2004 “Canadian Institutes of Health Information’s report. In fact, Statistics Canada now says we have one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world.

Regular exercise and physical activity is critical for weight loss and overall health, yet with each passing year our children are becoming less active. Canada’s Physical Activity Guide advises 90 minutes a day of physical activity for children, it was found that only 13 per cent were meeting that target. Schools share some of that blame, as their programs have been dramatically slashed due to cutbacks. The Canadian Teacher’s Federation says that only one-third of all schools have formal physical education programs.  And those that do offer them simply do not include enough vigorous activity for a long enough period of time to combat inactivity.

Also, the availability and popularity of television, video games, and computers has drawn children out of organized sports or after school fun and play into the house. According to a 2000 report by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the average Canadian child spends about three to five hours a day ogling the one eyed monster or “twittering” away on a computer screen. Combine that with six hours a day sitting in a classroom, and you have some serious inactivity.

Another obvious link in the chain is junk food! Most schools do not offer healthy lunches and other meal programs, according to the CMAJ study. And even when lunches are packed for children by parents, these kids seem to have an unlimited supply of soft drinks, candy, chips, and fast foods available to them.

The results are often disastrous. Poor eating habits may prevent children from reaching their full potential. Research now suggests that poor nutrition affects children’s intellectual performance. With decreased energy and cognitive ability, they are not likely to improve grades and their classroom behaviour, as well as psychological well being may suffer.

Combine inactivity and poor nutrition, and it’s no wonder our children are becoming supersized. Health authorities now warn that unless we do something fast, this generation could become the first to have shorter life spans than their parents. This is due to the risk of developing diseases previously only seen in adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, asthma and so on.

The obvious solutions

There are a number of things which can be done. Children love “grab and go” snacks, so stock your kitchen with veggies and dip; berries; yogurt; low fat cheese and apples; healthy trail mix; baked nachos and salsa; homemade popsicles and air popped popcorn.

You also have to eliminate sweet drinks. The average can of pop and or sugary juice (punches or cocktails) contains approximately 9-11 teaspoons of sugar. If one of the first ingredients listed on the label is sugar, glucose or high fructose corn syrup, the product is not likely to contribute to good health. Stick to water to properly hydrate your child without packing on excess calories, or 100 per cent fruit juices (in moderation and watered down).

Try to keep your child moving as well. It is prudent to have your children participate in 1 hour of physical activity daily. Whether it is joining a community center, team sports, bike riding as a family or swimming lessons – it all start with participation.

The federal government has touted its children’s fitness tax credit as one way to encourage parents to help their kids get active. Parents can claim a maximum of $500 a year for eligible fitness expenses, which must “include a significant amount of physical activity that contributes to cardio-respiratory endurance, plus one or more of: muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility or balance.”

Make them eat a healthy breakfast also. A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that skipping meals and eating less frequently was linked with being four times more likely to be obese than those who ate breakfast daily.

A child’s diet should be filled with fresh fruits, vegetable, eggs, chicken, fish, whole grain bread, cereal and pasta, nuts, seeds and low fat dairy products. Processed and refined floury items, fast food, and sugar-laden products should be kept to a bare minimum, and saved for an occasional treat.

So you can see, there may be serious health and social consequences that come with being overweight or obese. By implementing the steps above, we can slowly turn the epidemic of obesity into one of healthy kids for life.

Fitness After 50: Keep It Movin’

4pack.wordpress.com

Are you over 50 and thinking of changing your lifestyle? Now is the time because as we age, our body begins to change. Fat deposits show up where there were none before, muscles become droopy and processes stop working, all without ever asking for your permission.

However, there is something which comes as close to an anti-aging antidote as possible. Fitness can play a key role in maintaining optimum health, feeling good, and looking great. A lot of the severe problems we used to think of as being related to aging are actually connected to disuse of the body.

But hey, we can do something about that. Research published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society found that inactivity doubles the risk of mobility limitations as we age, while vigorous activity has the opposite effect. In another study, published in the journal Neurology, doctors found that exercise can slow cognitive declines. That means the mind stays sharper longer, and we find those glasses on top of our cranium faster.

No matter what area you look at, be it heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or osteoporosis, research shows that being physically fit into senior years will keep you healthier. Not only that, but exercising regularly more than halves your chance of dying prematurely, (Archives of Internal Medicine, December 2007), which is always a good thing. Another Swedish study also revealed that those who raised their level of physical activity between the ages of 50 and 60 experienced the same mortality rates as those who had always been physically active. How’s that for fair? The results were so pronounced that the study team compared the reduction in mortality to people who stop smoking.

That’s good news for the estimated 90% of retirees who get virtually no meaningful exercise, and even more so for the 50% who are totally sedentary. Instead of simply hoping to hang around long enough to collect retirement benefits like their grandparents, this generation has the ability after 60 to be doing the same things they did at age 45, though hopefully in a wiser fashion.

Psychological well-being improves, while depression and anxiety seem to melt away. Balance, strength, range of motion, and energy levels also get better, along with reduced body fat, and improved weight control. It’s not the ‘perfect body’ dream anymore, but a realistic ‘lifestyle and better health’ outlook starts to look mighty good at this point.

By now you should be more than a little interested in what I speak of here. But before you run out and throw yourself into the next exercise class, there are a few cautions to consider. The spirit may be willing, but a 50 or 60 year old person who hasn’t moved properly for about two decades will require a little extra attention to benefit in both the short and the long run.

Any change you make to your exercise regimen should be incorporated in a gradual, systematic way, to allow your body to get used to it, and to make sure your muscles are “conditioned” properly. Make sure you also have a thorough physical and get the go-ahead from your physician before starting your exercise protocol.

So where to begin? Numerous studies show that vigorous muscle strengthening exercises are superior to aerobic counterparts, especially when it comes to fat loss. Why? Because that added muscle causes the body to burn calories even while at rest, as it expends more energy. If you happen to add five pounds of muscle to your body, you could burn up an additional 200 calories per day, or 72,800 calories a year, which equals a weight loss of 20 pounds. That’s not bad for making the right exercise decision. Just don’t blow it with a nacho chip and diet coke habit.

So whether you pick up dumbbells, use a medicine ball, give the heavy bag a thumping, climb stairs or even do bodyweight exercises, after two months you can expect to reverse the effects of two decades of muscle loss, increasing your strength by a whopping 40%. Mull that one over before your next arm wrestling contest.

By now it should be evident that it’s never too late to start exercising, even after reaching or passing middle age. Unfortunately, most people embrace age-related decline as inevitable, or are unlikely to change bad habits through excuses. The former is a lack of information, while the latter is a poor widow to potential health consequences.