Alternatives To Driving To Work

Here's a thought that might strike a chord with you. We are so accustom to jumping in the car to go to work, have you ever considered riding your bike or walking? I know it may be "too far". But think about this. If you bike to work and it takes you an hour, on average you will burn approximately 500 calories a day. In 5 days that adds up to 2500 calories burned, which could result in a 2 pound weight loss without changing your eating habits or diet.

I also just saw something about a bill in congress that would make you eligible for a $20/month tax credit for riding your bike to work - that's $240 a year, and they're thinking about doubling this to $40/month. This may be an incentive with the cost of gas and up keep on your car.

Here's something else to consider. Do you drive your children to school or do they ride their bike? Encouraging them to walk or ride their bike to school will start them on an exercise habit that will stay with them for life.

Best Diet

You all know that I really don't like the word diet. But I recently read an article on the best diet for life. It started out by saying that the Mediterranean diet was the best diet but soon digressed to say that really only part of that was true.

What the researchers found was that the healthiest part of the Mediterranean diet was eating lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes (like beans and peas). This is not exactly what I think of when I here Mediterranean diet. But it is what I have been saying for a long time.

Eating these things was associated with a longer lifespan. In a separate but similar study, the researchers found that by eating these components, there was a reduced risk of developing dementia.

Strengthening Your Abs

Here's an abs workout that will help your lower body as well. Lying on your back, put your hands flat on the floor, and bring your heels as close to your buttocks as you can. As you inhale, raise your head and your heels up slightly. You will feel this in your upper abs.

As you exhale, bring your knees toward your chest - you'll feel this in the lower abs - make sure you lift your buttocks off the ground. As you lower your body begin to inhale.

Repeat this 12 times, then rest for 1 minute. Repeat another 12 times and rest for 1 minute. Repeat a third set of 12.

Sodium Intake

How much salt should you actually be getting? That's a common question that I get asked frequently. The normal, healthy adult (no know medical problems) should eat no more than 2300 milligrams of salt a day. This is about 1 teaspoon of salt. Now that is not just what you add at the table. Read the label of any processed food such as canned soup and you will see that you are probably way beyond your daily amount with one serving.

Most of the sodium that we get in our diets today comes from eating in restaurants and eating processed foods. Be sure to read the labels on any food you purchase. Many restaurants now will tell you the sodium content of their foods. You can always ask for a low-sodium entree, just ask the waiter.

Your best choice is to pick fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you are at risk for or have heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure your daily salt intake should be no more than 1500 milligrams a day.

Soy - Not A Great Choice For Men

While soy does lots of good things for women, it can do just the opposite for men. The phyto-estrogens in soy can actually lower testosterone in men, causing their breasts to grow and their libido to drop.

Remember also that men do not require as much fat as women to be healthy. Men should be cautious with soy products.

Eat Whole Grains

Most of us in this country are concerned about fiber and how much we are getting. A recent study indicated that the average American only consumes about 12 grams of fiber a day. What you actually need each day is 30-25 grams to maintain a healthy weight and avoid disease such as heart disease and diabetes.

So how do you increase your fiber? Start increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables that you eat each day. These are your best sources of fiber. When you eat bread, be sure that it is whole grain. Better yet is to eat old fashion oatmeal which is a whole grain. Remember most cereals are not whole grain, contain lots of sugar and very little fiber.

Osteoporosis - Can It Happen To You?

Osteoporosis is one of those diseases which comes on slowly - actually years before we realize that it is happening. As you know I have a real problem with the amount of carbonated beverages we consume in this country. It's not just the sugar, sugar substitutes that are the problem. One of the major problems with carbonated beverages is that they leach calcium out our bones, so the matrix becomes weakened - osteoporosis. When bones become fragile they are more likely to break and more difficult to heal. We tend to think of this as a disease of the elderly because that is when we actually see it.

But the truth is that the disease starts when we are in our teens, twenties and thirties. Did you know that you have your peak bone mass at age 35? It's all down hill from there. So you need to work at keeping your bones strong. But also think about your children. What are you letting them drink? I believe we are going to see way more osteoporosis in the coming years as the baby boomers age. Partly due to the fact that we had no idea what carbonated beverages were doing to our bones when we were young.

What you can do, no matter what age you are is cut out all carbonated beverages. Do weight bearing exercise - walking is a good one.

Want A Flatter Stomach?

Here's some exercises to help you strengthen your core and flatten your tummy. Now these are not as easy as they sound. First and foremost, remember to breathe as you exercise. Muscle need oxygen, so if you're not breathing, they're not getting any!

Lie on your side with legs extended. With the arm that is against the floor, push up so that the forearm is against the floor and you are propped up. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, lift youf hips off the floor so that your body weight is supported by the forearm that is on the floor and the outer edge of your foot. Hold this for 15 seconds. If you are unable to do 15 seconds, then start with 10 or 5 seconds. Repeat again. Rest for 1 full minute and turn so that the up side is now the down side (in other words, switch sides being against the floor). Do the same procedure 2 times on this side.

Your goal is to increase your time each day until you can do 1 full minute, repeated twice on each side. (that's a total of 4 minutes with 1 minute rest between sides)

Another Way To Exercise

I know I've mentioned this before, but it is time to bring it up again. One of the ways you can challenge yourself in the exercise game is to get a pedometer. Wear it for a few days before you really start to do any walking beyond your usual and see how many steps you're taking each day.

After you've done that for a few days, begin to add steps in your day. Take the stairs, park further from your place of business, walk the dog, go for a 10 minute walk after work, and see how these activities add to the number of steps that you're taking each day. Try to increase your number of steps each day by 500 steps. That's really not that many and you will find yourself competing to increase those steps more and more each day.

Oh and the side benefit. You may shed some unwanted weight. You'll have stronger, healthier heart and bones. You'll have healthier lungs. And you'll live a healthier life.

What Exercise Can I Do For 10 Minutes?

Here's a 10 minute exercise that I call bounce and shake. When you first start this, you may find that 10 minutes is a long time especially if you have not been exercising. But stand with your legs about shoulder width apart. Begin bouncing on your feet up and down. As you do this then begin to shake your arms. You can shake them at the floor, to either side of you, or up in the air. Continue bouncing and shaking your arms for 10 minutes. Remember to take some deep breaths through all of this.

As I said, you might find that the first week or two of this is pretty tiring, but as you continue to do it, your endurance will improve. I have one individual who has lost over 100 pounds using this simple exercise on a daily basis for 10 minutes. See her blog.

Exercise -What's Good For You

I just read a recent study that shows that you can reduce your risk of major disease and improve your quality of life with as little as 10 minutes a day of exercise! I'd say that is pretty phenomenal!

But remember the one jumping jack study where they had a test group who only had to do 1 jumping jack a day and the other group had to do 30 minutes a day of exercise. At the end of the testing period, the group who was supposed to do 1 jumping jack a day was in better shape and lost more weight than the group who was supposed to exercise 30 minutes a day. Why, because most people doing 1 jumping jack felt like and did more than 1 jumping jack a day. The people in the exercise group found excuses not to exercise because it felt too much like work to them.

So can you commit to 10 minutes a day? Stayed tuned for more on what you can do during that 10 minutes.

Brain Health

Researchers have shown that marriage helps keep your mind sharp. Now that's a new twist right. But what they found was that individuals who were single at midlife (age 50) and remained single were at greater risk to develop diseases such as Alzheimer's.

What the researchers believe is that by having a partner, you may be given social and mental challenges that stimulate the brain. I know someone out there is saying something like, boy, I'm really challenged alright. But be happy that you have that challenge and that it may delay or prevent the onset of dementia.

Good News Or Bad News

Is it good news or bad news if you going your doctor does some tests on you and does not call you back? Researchers have found that this does not always mean everything is OK. In some medical practices there is a 26% failure to notify. This means that a quarter of the time, you may not be notified when you should be about a test result.

Make sure you get your results. Ask your doctor when you can expect the results and if you are notified, call the office and ask for the results. Never assume that because they have not called all is well!

Who's Job Is It For You To Be Healthy

I just read an article about the state of Alabama employees who have until November 30 to be checked for chronic diseases in order to keep their free health insurance. The plan is that they will have to be doing something about what ever is identified in order to keep their free health insurance. I think this is not a bad idea. Who is responsible for your health? Pushing you in the direction of getting healthier is not a bad idea.

I know that some people are way opposed to this because they feel the problem is the health care system and to an extent they are right. But we need to be our own best advocate and start living healthier so we don't need to get into the unhealthy health care system in this country.

Vegetable Juice

One of the juices that is good for you is Low sodium V8 juice. Be careful not to get the regular V8 juice as it has way too much sodium in it. The low sodium V8 can actually help your blood pressure, while the regular V8 may make your blood pressure go up as a result of the sodium content.

Cabbage - You Got To Love It

Most of us probably don't think about cabbage as having a lot of healthy benefits, but there's where we are wrong. Cabbage was touted as being the best vegetable back in Roman times 2000 years ago.

So what is so great about cabbage? One of things about cabbage is that it contains glutamine which is an amino acid that feeds the mucosa of the rapidly growing GI tract. The mucosa of the GI tract is rapidly replacing itself and requires glutamine to grow properly. Cabbage is a rich source of glutamine and has been recommended for years as a therapy for GI disorders like ulcers, heart burn, GERD (gastric reflux).

Additionally, sauerkraut also is extremely healthful for the GI tract. The one thing that sauerkraut contains is that it is fermented and the bacteria found in it help nurture the normal bacteria found in the GI tract.

More on Juices

I just read an article on juicing, and while I agree that you can drink a lot of healthy nutrients in the juice, the raw fruit or vegetable may be better for you. One the vegetables that you may not be aware of is celery. Most of us think of celery as "rabbit food" or "diet food". But there are some really good benefits to celery.

You can juice it, but you will want to mix some raw fruit that you juice with it to take away some of the bitter flavor. The good news about celery is that it can help decrease you blood pressure. Celery contains a compound which helps relax the smooth muscle in the walls of the arteries. The vessels dilate and this effectively lowers the pressure within the arteries. Hence your blood pressure lowers. The compound responsible for this 3-n-butyl-phthalide.

Juices Versus Raw Fruit

I can't tell you how many times when I ask people if they are eating fruit, they say oh yes, I drink juice. A big buzzer goes off in my head every time. Most people think that the juice is as healthy or healthier than the fruit. Not true.

Read those labels. There is a reason to eat the raw, fresh fruit. First and formost, raw fruit contains good fiber. Juices such as apple juice contain absolutely no fiber. Secondly, most juices contain sugar which makes them a sweet drink, but not particularly healthy.

Even fresh squeezed orange juice, you're losing a lot of the fiber contained in the orange. Better to eat the orange!

Should I Eat Frozen Yogurt or Ice Cream?

You may be surprised at my answer here. Pick the ice cream, just don't eat too much. Frozen yogurt is another one of those products that the manufacturers have perpetrated as a health food. The fact of the matter is that while yogurt with live culture actually does support your digestive tract, frozen yogurt does not contain any active live cultures! In addition, the frozen yogurt is often loaded with artificial sweeteners which actually make your sugar cravings increase. This is not to mention all of the other chemicals in the frozen yogurt.

Read those labels and you'll see. Pick the ice cream, just limit your portion. Here's a trick instead of buying the 5 gallon bucket of ice cream, buy a quart of smaller size and then eat less of it. You can put it in a custard cup which will look full but you will be getting less.

Eggs - Should I Just Eat The Whites?

I mentioned before that eggs have gotten a bad rap for many years and many reasons. Again, you want to read those labels because you're looking for free range chickens to be laying the eggs that you eat. The whites are the best part, however, you should also know the benefits of the yolks and there is one very specific one.

The yolk of the egg contains lutein and xeazanthin both of which are important for eye health and helping to prevent macular degeneration. But both of these need fats to be absorbed and that is also contained in the yolk of the egg. There is another reason to eat the yolk. It also contains phosphatidylcholine which is an important nutrient for good brain health.

But I Eat Granola Bars

So you think you're eating healthy if you eat granola bars? Think again. Have you read the label? The granola bars you get in the grocery store are basically a candy bar where the name has been changed to make you think you're getting something healthy. They have lots of sugar and processed carbs in them and very little fiber content.

If you like the idea of a granola bar, then make your own with raw old fashioned oat meal, coconut, almonds, raisins and a little raw organic honey or black strap molasses to make it all stick together. Then you will have a healthy granola bar. When I used to travel a lot, I would make up some of my own granola bars and take them with me for breakfast. They were awesome and very tasty. And in those days, I didn't realize that I was eating something healthier!

Isn't Salmon A Healthy Food?

Everyone believes that salmon is a healthy food and it is. But once again, you need to read the label. What you want to look for is "wild" salmon. Most of the salmon in the grocery stores is farm salmon.

Because farm salmon are raised in pens, fed grains, plus a variety of other things including antibiotics, they are not the healthy food of wild salmon. They are more likely to cause cancer and have less of the good omega 3 in them. As with most of our food, you can consider farm raised salmon as processed food. Not the healthiest of choices.

Read the label and look for "wild" salmon.

More On Healthy Foods

I started talking a couple of days ago about healthy foods. Most of us have heard that canola oil is one of the better oils to be using these days. Well, once again you need to read the label. The canola oil which is good is that which is cold processed.

The most common process for getting canola oil out of the plant is to extract it with extremely high temperatures. What this does to the good omega 3 is make it rancid. To help correct this the manufacturers use some caustic refining to improve the taste and remove the smell. which creates some trans-fatty acids. So this type of canola is not all its cracked up to be.

Read the label and look for organic, cold processed.

Happy Labor Day

A day of rest for everyone - well most everyone. Have a great day. Take some time for yourself.

What Is A Healthy Food To Eat

There are lots of healthy foods out there and some that are not so healthy. You as a consumer have to be able to discern what is healthy and what is not. The first thing I would tell you is not to listen to the advertising by the company pushing a product. They can say whatever they want to get you to buy the food. The best example I can think of at the moment is the ad for Fruit Loops which says it is a healthy choice.

So what is healthy and what is not. Cereals have been drilled into us by the media as the healthy thing to eat for breakfast. We are told how much fiber they have, but in fact there really isn't much fiber in cereals. The other thing about cereals is that most of them are loaded with sugar. Read those labels. You should be looking for cereals that contain at least 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of sugar.

The best cereals are the old fashioned ones like oatmeal or the ones tha most people don't really want to eat like All-Bran. Look for whole grains, these are your best choices.

Exercising Your Brain As Well As Your Body

I know I've talked about this before, but I'm going to bring it up once again. If you're lifting weights, walking, jogging, or doing strenuous physical exercise, don't forget to exercise your brain.

I have a patient who is 105 years old. She is sharp as a tack and knows more about the world and the affairs of the US then I every thought of knowing. So how does she stay so sharp you might ask? She exercises her brain on a daily basis. Her body is actually getting pretty frail, but she uses her brain daily. She reads the newspaper from cover to cover every day. When we had 2 newspapers in this city, she read them both. Then she talks to people about what she has read.

Another thing she does is to learn a new word every day. Not just the word and what it means, but also how to spell it. She is always the champion at the spelling bee each month in the senior highrise that she lives in.

Some other things you can do is to change things up every couple of days. Take a new route to work, brush your teeth with the opposite hand, put your clothes on differently than usual. If you put your shirt on first, put it on last. Obviously you can't put your underware on last, but for women if you put on your panties first, put them on after you put on your bra.

Do mind games. One of the things I have always done is the crossword puzzle every morning. Now I have added a second crossword and the Sudoku puzzle. Any kind of brain game will help exercise your brain and keep you young.

Heart Disease On The Rise

I saw this question in the paper and I just had to respond to it. Someone asked why heart disease seemed to be on the rise even though many people are taking anti-cholesterol medicines and all the information out about low fat diets.

The interesting thing about this question is the response which was that heart disease is on the rise because of the aging of the population, obesity, and diabetes. While I don't necessarily disagree with this, the real underlying problem is not cholesterol which is the myth that the American government has fed us. The underlying issue is inflammation. And how many people do you think are following a low fat diet? Would we see the amount of obesity in this world if they were? We're eating junk - or at least most people are. I'm reminded of the ad that I heard a few weeks ago about Fruit Loops being a healthy choice. What are we buying into here.

I won't get back on my band wagon about the cholesterol issue, but if you are new to this blog, then go back and read my post starting 9/6/08. You can also just search the Cholesterol category to find out more - better yet search on the inflammation category on the lower right of this page.

Here's A Laugh About The Flu Vaccine

I often read Mike Adams who is the health ranger. He recently published a list of 10 things he'd rather do than get a flu shot, so thought I would share them with you.

That's why there are ten things I'd rather do than get a swine flu vaccine shot:

#1) Eat nothing but McDonald's hamburgers and fries for 30 days straight until I cough up my own liver.

#2) Kiss an H1N1-infected pig smack on the lips.

#3) Legally change my name to "Barack Obama" and then announce it over the loudspeaker of a cowboy bar in rural Texas, just to see what happens.

#4) Be forced to work as a writer in the public relations department of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

#5) Base jump off a tall building with nothing more than a parachute made under the same quality control oversight as FDA-approved swine flu vaccines.

#6) Be subjected to forced chemotherapy at gunpoint, just like all the other U.S. teens who are kidnapped by state authorities and forcibly injected with chemo.

#7) Have all the superfoods in my pantry secretly replaced with MSG-laced processed food products made by Frito-Lay.

#8) Work as a biological hazards disposal volunteer in the "superbug ward" of a local hospital.

#9) Drink diet soda until my brain explodes from the aspartame exposure.

#10) Get a public relations job at the White House where my sole responsibility is to show the brain-numbed masses how to stupidly sneeze into their own shirt sleeves.

Vaccines - What You Should Know

This information is available out at a site www.vaccinationdebate.com. This site specific gives you information about vaccinations and what has happened as a result of them.

Many times when there is a mass vaccination, the result is that most cases of the disease the vaccination is suppose to prevent are actually caused by the vaccine. How many times have you heard, I got the disease and I had already had my vaccination?

Dr Jonas Salk, developed of the polio vaccine, testified in 1977 that mass inoculation done in 1961 was the cause of most of the polio cases in the USA.

There are multiple of these same findings regarding measles, diphtheria, small pox, and whooping cough, to name a few. When I see this information, I have to wonder why we are so intent on continuing to vaccinate everybody, especially if the vaccine is a live virus!!

Just somethings for you to ponder before you decide to get your flu shot.

Swine Flu

This seems to be all the rage these days. One of my friends asked me if I had gotten a flu shot. I said no and that I had no intention of getting one. The risks are way too high. There are reports out there that are claiming millions will die from swine flu. In fact, the people who have died from swine flu are those with a compromised immune system to begin with. It's not normal healthy people who die from the swine flu.

Those whose immune system is not strong are more prone to get any infectious disease and are more likely to not be able to fight the disease because of their compromised immune system.

I would say the risk for you to develop a complication from the vaccine are greater than your risk of getting the swine flu.