Music and Exercise

Any of us who have taken an aerobics class know that music really helps get you moving. Many studies have shown that up-tempo music definitely enhances cardiovascular performance. Selecting music based on age and taste can significantly increase a person's endurance by 15%. In addition, music makes the experience of a cardiovascular workout way more positive. Think about it. If you have done an aerobics class and even if you come out sweaty and feeling like you worked extra hard, you still have a positive attitude which is likely attributable to the music.

So if you are exercising on your own, not in a class, consider having some up beat music that you like to help boost your endurance.

Are You Sitting Too Much

There is some current research on how much we sit and is that good for us. A fairly large study showed that American adults sit on average 8 hours a day (56 hours a week). For some of you that is probably more hours in a week than you sleep!

Studies are showing us that when we sit for long periods, our bodies go into a hibernation mode like the computer. The bad news is that when our body goes into this hibernation mode, some of the enzymes like lipo-protein lipase which breaks down triglycerides ceases to work. This particular lipase will drop as much as 50% in the body. What this means is that the more we sit, the more we store fat instead of break it down.

Many of you may have jobs where you sit at a desk most of the day. Think about doing some things during the day to break the sitting cycle. Get up and walk up a fight of stairs, or walk in the hall for 5 minutes. If you starting getting in the habit of moving instead of sitting all of the time, it will become a habit and you will be serving your body in a good way.

Ropeless Jumping

If jumping rope is a problem for you because of wrist problems, or just being coordinated enough not to get yourself tangled up in the rope and falling, try jumping without a rope. Just bounce on your toes. You don't even have to bring your feet off of the floor. Start with both feet bouncing at the same time.

As you increase your endurance and strength, you can shift your weight from your left to your right and back. This will give you some other strengthening as you jump. I call this bouncing rather than jumping, because you are actually not bringing your feet off of the floor as you would if you were jumping.

Start out with 4-5 minutes of the bouncing. You will find when you first start, that you might not have much endurance and may not be able to go for the full 4-5 minutes. Do what you can and add time slowly every 3-4 days.

A Little More on Jumping Rope

You've probably heard claims about how many calories you can burn jumping rope. Yes, you do burn some, although there is a huge controversy over how many. Don't get hung up with that, there are other more important benefits to jumping rope. One of these benefits is in cardiovascular fitness. Making the heart stronger. But it also improves strength, endurance and agility. One of the things that comes to mind whenever anyone mentions jumping rope to me is boxers. They jump rope for the above benefits. Martial artists also jump rope for these reasons.

A good way to start jumping rope is to fit it in between your other exercise routines. If you are lifting weights, do 1 minute of jumping rope before you go on to the next exercise.

Jump Rope Exercise

A jump rope is small enough that it will fit in your suitcase, have one at work, and one in the car. Now that you have your shoes in all of these places, put a rope there too so that if you can't get out and walk or run, you could do a little rope jumping.

Here are a couple of tips for jumping rope and getting the most out of it.

• To avoid knee injuries, land softly on the balls of your feet
• Jump just enough - not too high - so you will land softly, not hard
• Use your wrists, not your arms to turn the rope
• Keep upper body movements to a minimum - shoulders relaxed, elbows in and slightly bent
• Keep the knees slightly bent, bouncing on the toes
• Wood, a sports court or a rubberized mat is best to jump on - do not jump on concrete

Start out gradually, slowly in 30-45 second intervals.

Staying in Shape

Sometimes we just say we're too busy to stay in shape. But there are some things you can do to help yourself be prepared to stay in shape when free time arises. If you're in the habit of daily exercise that is awesome. But sometimes when we are in the habit and leave home for a few days, we tend to fall off with our exercise.

One thing you can do is to keep extra walking or workout shoes in your car, at work, and in your suitcase. Shoes are your most important and the most basic tool to exercise while you're on the go. They allow you to fit in a good walk or run, no matter where you are. While this may not be your usual form of exercise, if you are busy, it is something you can fit in, even if you just park several blocks from work, or walk around the hotel.

Your Job and Your Health

As you might imagine, your health is definitely influenced by your job. In today's economy there are some new factors which are affecting our health that may not have been an issue before. These factors not only influence your health, but how long you will live.

The factors around work that influence your health these days are things like, do you still have a job, how secure are you in your job, and how much do you enjoy your work. These are factors which may have a huge impact on your health and longevity, perhaps more than if you are on the right diet to lose weight.

One of the most devastating factors above to our health is the loss of our job. In Finland, after a major layoff occurred, the risk of death from heart attack went up fivefold for those losing their jobs. In the USA, studies are currently being done to look at this, but some of the preliminary results show that people who lost their jobs in their 50s were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

A study in Michigan has shown that job insecurity can be as bad for health as a bout with a serious illness and worse than an actual job loss. Part of this boils down to you feeling valuable in your job.

Laughing and Calorie Burning

Most of us don't associate laughing with burning calories or losing weight. But in fact, laughing can help. You can burn as many calories with 3 minutes of laughing as you can with 10 minutes on the rowing machine.

Laughter has been shown to boost the immune system in general as well as specific areas like the mouth where antibodies increase which in turn fight off upper respiratory infections and infections in the mouth.

Laughing also increases endorphins from the brain which make us feel good. This is what many runners call the "runner's high." Most important here is the fact that laughter decreases stress - it is one of the best stress relievers.

If you are having trouble laughing, look at children. Children laugh about 400 times a day on average. Adults on the other hand laugh about 5 times per day on average. So increase your laughter each day and improve your health, your emotional balance, and your life.

Instead of Crying, Laugh

Right now with the economy as it is, many of you may "feel like crying." But the healthier thing to do is to laugh. If you get what you think about, if your thoughts are sad and you're crying you will get more of it - or more reason to do it. If you are laughing and seeing the positive, you will get more of that too.

You don't need humor to laugh. How many times have you laughed because someone else was laughing. You may not even know why they are laughing, but you begin to laugh too. I'm sure you've heard the adage "Laugh until you pee your pants."

Scientific studies have shown that laughter on a regular basis lifts the mood, deceases stress, lowers blood pressure and lowers cholesterol. A 20 minute bout of laughter can actually lower the cholesterol by 6 points. This is better than what oatmeal can do for your cholesterol! The same 20 minutes can lower your blood pressure by 6 points as well. This is from a study done at Loma Linda University.

So just try saying HA, HA, HA thirty times. If you're not laughing, force it and say it 30 more times. Try it with a spouse or a friend, if one of you truly starts to laugh so will the other. Then look around and you will see more happiness around you.

Things to Think About Regarding Computer Vision Syndrome

Lastly, distance from the screen plays a part in Computer Vision Syndrome. Work at a distance that is comfortable. If you are staining to read what is on the screen this can create the computer vision syndrome for you. Also be aware that if you wear glasses, you may need to get glasses that work for your computer distance, especially if you are wearing bifocals.

Straining to not only see what is on the screen but to understand what you are reading can strain the eyes. So if you find yourwelf really concentrating intently to understand something that you are reading, stop and give your eyes a break.

More on Computer Vision Syndrome

One of the problems that occurs with many computer screens is that they are either too high or too low. Hence, you are looking more upward or more downward. This can result in some the physical symptoms of neck and back ache.

The screen should be at a comfortable height for you to look directly at it. The ideal placement is so that the top of the screen is at eye level. This is so that you look in the ideal gaze angle of 10-20 degrees below the eye. This keeps the eye from getting dried out from looking upward where the eye is more wide open.

Treatment for Computer Vision Syndrome

Yesterday I talked about the eye specifically and things you could do. Today, I'm going to talk about the environment. One of the things you can do is to adjust your monitor to its highest resolution. This will make looking at the screen more comfortable for your eyes. While the clarity is better with the high resolution, it may make the font too small to read easily, so you may have to adjust the font size.

Next, remove lamps or lighting that produce glare on the computer screen. Natural light is best, but this is often not an option in many offices. Remove the direct light sources or install blinds, screens or shades to remove the glare from the screen. This can be done with an anti-reflection computer screen.

More tips tomorrow on dealing with computer vision syndrome.

Computer Vision Syndrome

You have probably heard that you should look away from your computer every 10 minute for about 20 seconds or so. While you do this you should blink forcefully several times to help keep your eyes moist. You can also use some liquid tears to help keep the eyes moist or use a humidifier in the room where you are working. Keep in mind that many work places are exceptionally dry and may make this problem worse.

When you look away from the computer, don't consider looking at a document that you are typing as looking away. My computer is near a window, so I look out at the trees and houses across the street. I also sometimes just close my eyes for a few seconds to give them a rest. This also helps lubricate them as well. I am a contact wearer, so my eyes tend to be dryer than most people, so I use wetting solution to keep them moist if I am going to be at the computer for many hours.

Eye Health

One of the biggest challenges for our eyes these days is the use of computers. I'm sure you have experienced what I have after spending long hours in front of the computer. Sometimes we just call it eye strain, but it has gotten a more formal title these days, that is Computer Vision Syndrome.

Some of the symptoms you may experience are dry, irritated, red eyes and eye fatigue. Computer Vision Syndrome is actually much more prevalent than carpel tunnel syndrome in computer users. We've all seen the ergonomic key boards and mice, but no one really talks a lot about the visual problem which is more prevalent.

Some of the other symptoms that you can experience are blurred distant or far vision, headaches, neck and back aches, and double vision.

Over the next few days I'll be talking about how to relieve some of the symptoms and help your eyes if you use the computer for many hours a day.

Alcohol - The Cons

One of the things that alcohol is associated with is an increase in blood pressure. Of course because it is broken down in the liver, any individual with liver disease should not be drinking any alcohol. In addition, alcohol can exacerbate heart burn and acid reflux.

Drink alcohol cautiously if you are trying to lose weight. The calories are mostly empty and do not make the brain think that you are full. In fact alcohol can stimulate the appetite and you will actually eat more calories than you should.

So use caution when drinking alcohol. The biggest factor is moderation.

Alcohol

As I have mentioned before alcohol does have some beneficial effects. One of the things that alcohol does is relax blood vessels, while it boosts levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, thereby decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

The trick here is to keep the consumption of alcohol down. The max for women should be one glass per day and for men 2 glasses per day.

Red wine contains resveratrol which provides most of the beneficial effects mentioned above. The other thing about red wine is that it is provides antioxidants as well, which we know the body needs to protect itself from disease.

Red Meat - the Cons

Because of the saturated fats found in many cuts of red meat, the medical community as cautioned us against eating it. Saying that it will increase the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and in turn increasing your chance of heart disease. While I follow their logic here, I do not agree that cholesterol is the issue. I believe the issue is inflammation not the cholesterol.

The medical community also states that red meat consumption is associated with higher rates of colon cancer, gallstones, and gout. The interesting thing here is that gout is an inflammation caused by uric acid crystals in a joint.

I would not and do not feel guilty about eating red meat. If some of the things above are concerning to you, then buy lean cuts of meat like sirloin. You could also eat venison, ostrich or buffalo. Game meats tend to have much lower fat content and also less calories.

Red Meat

Red meat has been made to look as all bad and many people feel guilty if they enjoy a good piece of beef. Red meat does contain some good things. It is an excellent source of protein. Free range fed beef contains all of the essential amino acids. It is essential that you eat free range beef, since beef that is from cattle fed specific foods does not contain the conjugated linoleic acid that our bodies need to build muscle.

Most of you are probably aware of the info above, but what you may not know is that beef also contains othe vital nutrients. These include bioavailable iron, as well as zinc, selenium, and B vitamins.

Tomorrow I'll talk about some of the cons with red meat.

Soy - the Cons

The biggest con to soy is the it can interfere with the thyroid gland. This is especially true in people who are iodine deficient. The gland is not able to function in it's normal way and this gets worse when soy is added into the body.

While iodine deficiency is a rarity in the USA today, what is not is the incidence of thyroid disease. Soy can actually reduce the absorption of thyroid medications that many people are taking. So the best advice for soy specifically is not to eat or drink a soy product within 1-2 hours of taking your thyroid medication.

The likelihood that you will get too much isoflavones is not an issue unless you are taking supplements in addition to eating soy foods. If you are eating soy in your diet, decease the amount of isoflavones in the supplements that you take.

Soy

You may not have grown up eating soy, but there are lots of products in the stores these days made from soy. And as usual there is controversy over whether soy is good or bad. So today I will go over some of the positive things about soy and tomorrow I will hit some of the bad things about soy.

Probably the best thing about soy is that it is an excellent low fat protein source. But this is just one of it's features. Soy also contains minerals like iron, zinc and calcium. The true health benefit of soy is in the isoflavons it contains. Isoflavons are similar in chemical structure to our own estrogen.

Isoflavons help women combat the symptoms of memopause, as well as improve bone health, decrease heart disease risk, reduce cancer risk, and protect against prostate problems.

#7 Healthy Habit

Managing your weight is the last habit to get into. We all know that if you are over weight you are more likely to develop disease.

The National Institutes of Health have actually shown that waist circumference is a strong predictor of mortality. Men with a waist greater than 44 inches women with a waist greater than 41 inches have a 25% higher mortality rate.

So watch that waist line and what you're eating!

#6 Healthy Habit

Yesterday I spoke about friends and how that helps keep your brain healthy. The next healthy habit is to do things that keep your brain functioning at a high level. Remember to exercise your mind with things like crossword puzzles, etc. It's the use it or lose it principle. You don't want to live to 100 if you don't know who is sitting next to you or where you are.

I have a 105 year old woman who is one of my patients. She is absolutely as sharp as they come. She actually knows more about current events than I do. Maybe that isn't saying a whole lot since I'm only in touch with what people tell me. This woman reads the paper cover to cover every day. When the election campaigns were happening, she knew which states voted for which candidates. She is very sharp, because she uses her brain every day and keeps it functioning at a high level.

#5 Healthy Habit

Yesterday I spoke about family. Perhaps more important than family is having a network of friends. Studies have shown that individuals with large networks of friends are less likely to die than those with fewer friends.

Remember this is part of keeping your brain going too. Those large social networks are a good thing.

#4 Healthy Habit

The importance of family was demonstrated in a study of centenarians in the US. People who had a brother or sister who lived to be 100 were more likely to live to be 100 than others who were born in the same year. There is longevity in families.

There also seems to be a link between longevity and having a sibling. So you may want to think about having 2 children instead of one.

#3 Healthy Habit

Getting fresh air. This may be a little more difficult if you are a city dweller. There is some good news even for those who live in metropolitan area. Pollution has decreased in cities over the last 30 years. Life span for individuals living in cities has increased by about 10 months. I know this is not very much, but at least it is something. And it also speaks to the fact that getting out of the city is a good thing now and then so you can breathe some fresh air.

The other piece here is to cut pollution in your area in any way that you can. It's not just he environmental impact, but it's good for you and your loved ones as well.

#2 Healthy Habit

I have said this multiple times before, but the eating health is essential to produce a longer life. A British study showed that inidividuals who eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day live longer healthier lives. This should be no surprise.

Also included in those studies was the fact that drinking alcohol in moderation, exercise and not smoking contributed to an extra 14 years of healthy life.

So there is more than just eating right.

7 Healthy Habits

For the next 7 days, I'll be giving you a habit that will help you stay healthy. The first one is getting the right amount of sleep. Adequate amounts of sleep are required for you to stay healthy. The question most people have is how much sleep should I be getting?

Studies have shown that 7-8 hours produces the best longevity and healthiest individuals. If you sleep less than this you are likely to have more disease and a shorter life span. One thing that is good, if you don't get 7 straight hours, but you get a chance to take a nap during the day, this is OK. Taking that time to rest will help your body to stay healthy.

Increasing Obesity

I feel the need to caution everyone against obesity during these hard economic times. The tendency to buy cheaper foods may result in an increase in weight gain. As you know, the increase in weight gain leads to more illness.

This isn't the only problem with increasing obesity during tough economic times. There is an increase in stress during these times which will cause the release of cortisol which causes an increase of the fat stores especially around the abdomen.

The word here is to be cautious about not only what you are eating but what your children are eating as well.

Fasting Helps Prevent Disease

While I'm on the subject of fasting, there is research that tells us that fasting can help with several common diseases. I mention a couple of those yesterday in terms of cognitive function.

But other diseases which fasting may help protect you from are heart disease, diabetes, and asthma to name a few where research is being conducted. With intermittent fasting, researchers found a 40% reduction in the risk for heart disease. This can be very significant if you are one of the 65% of Americans who are overweight.

The incidence of diabetes has been shown to decrease which is not a huge surprise is you are eating less. In Asthmatics, the number of attacks was decreased and the overall symptoms from Asthma were less.

The greatest thing about fasting is how good you feel and how much more energy you will have. This combined with the decrease in disease means you'll live a longer, happier life.

More on Fasting

A little more on fasting here. Fasting can help your bodies systems to take you toward disease prevention. One of the things that occurs during fasting for a couple of days is that your body begins to detoxify and get rid of the toxins that have built up within.

The other thing that occurs after fasting that researchers don't understand is that the seems to require fewer calories. They think this occurs because the cells are stressed just enough, not too much. This mild stress helps them produce proteins that are actually protective of more severe stress. This is a case of a little is good, but more is not better.

Research has also shown that reduced calories with intermittent fasting helps reduce the decline of cognitive function in diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. If you have ever fasted in an appropriate manner, you were probably aware of your own cognitive ability being sharpened.