September 2010

The American Cancer Society has identified another super food – black rice. Black rice is most commonly found in China where it is also known as “forbidden rice”. According to Chinese legend, black rice was so rare, tasty and nutritious it could only be served to the Emperor. But now everyone can enjoy the antioxidant powers of this high iron, high fiber grain. Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of another popular super – blueberries. Anthocyanin antioxidants are responsible for the red, purple and blue color of many fruits, vegetables, grains and flowers and have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Other anthocyanin antioxidant rich foods include red grapes, strawberries, red wine, red cabbage, red onion, and blood orange juice. Best of all, black rice has an intense nutty flavor and has less natural sugar than blueberries. At this point black rice can be hard to find in the United States. However, now that the American Cancer Society is singing the praises of this ebony grain I am sure that it won’t be long before you start noticing black rice at your local grocery store.

I have said many times that my Good Health mission is to increase awareness. That’s why I feel compelled to tell you that in the past 5 years doctors has seen an increase in chemical burns caused by at-home vaginal bleaching creams. ??????????????? Women are using these creams to reduce the normal discoloration of their vaginal and anal area, discoloration that occurs as a result of the aging process and hormone changes from pregnancy. Of course, most women of a certain age would agree that vaginal bleaching is ridiculous. Just another one of those things, like Brazilian bikini waxes, that seem like a good idea – if you’re a porn star. But, I do worry about the crazy things young women are doing to themselves these days. It’s just not worth the possible irritation and blisters that vaginal bleaching has been known to cause. Dare to ignore this risky trend and leave your vulva as God intended.

Labor Day is the unofficial start of fall and apple season! In my opinion, you really haven’t lived until you have enjoyed a Minnesota-grown Honeycrisp apple. How fortunate that something so tasty is also so good for you. A recent study concluded that people who eat five or more apples a week have better lung function. Make the time to be good to you and your lungs -- enjoy an apple today.

And . . . make sure you let me know what you think of this month’s Good Health message by adding a comment to this post.

Good Health!

Terry

“The healthiest response to life is joy.” ~Deepak Chopra

August 2010

Almost every morning Todd, a born again health/fitness fanatic wakes me up at 5:45 AM so that we can power walk to Excelsior -- five miles round trip, 1 hour 7 minutes our best time according to Motion X GPS. Lately we’ve noticed a few other early bird walkers swinging hand weights and we wondered if that might be a good way to ramp up our walking workout. Well in a word -- no. Fitness walking experts believe that adding weights may actually increase the potential for injury. That’s because your arm motion while holding weights may affect your stride, adding unnecessary strain to your muscles, tendons and ligaments. Even the act of gripping weights can cause your blood pressure to rise. You only burn slightly more calories walking with weights and the increased calorie burn does not justify the potential risk of injury. The best way to ramp up your walking workout is to pick up your pace. According to Therese Ikonian, exercise physiologist and author of three books on fitness walking including Mind-Body Fitness for Dummies, “Walking at the highest intensity you can comfortably stick with for the distance without hurting yourself will use more total calories and, in the long run, more total body fat.” Going from a 20-minute mile to a 15-minute mile, you'll use 30 percent more calories per minute. There are lots of reasons that a daily walk is a good health idea: exercise helps to improve your mood, boosts energy, promotes better sleep, maintains a healthy weight, combats chronic illness, increases your flexibility and is a great way to spend quality time with your spouse or friends. Of course, Todd has lost 5 pounds on his new fitness walking routine – I believe I have found them.

Make the time to be good to you. Lace up your sneakers, tighten your tummy muscles, hold you head high, focus 15 to 20 feet in front of you and take a brisk walk four days a week. If power walking doesn’t appeal to you -- How about biking? Health benefits associated with biking are similar to walking and it’s lots of fun. Just make sure you always wear a helmet when you ride.

Good Health!

Terry

“Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.”
Charles Schulz

July 2010

Maybe it is the Florida girl in me or maybe it is the fact that you can pick up a cute pair inexpensively but I love flip-flops. I wear them almost everyday in the summer. That is why I was so disappointed to learn that foot experts consider flip-flops to be a health hazard. A 2008 study conducted by Auburn University concluded that wearing flip-flops for prolonged periods of time could result in ankle, foot, leg, hip and back pain. Flip-flops have also been blamed for sprained ankles, overpronation, tendinitis, stress fractures and flat feet causing the American School of Sports Medicine to declare flip-flops “more harmful than high heels.” If that isn’t enough of a bummer consider that due to their open, loose fitting construction flip-flops are also a driving hazard. In May, a 17-year old driver in Pennsylvania struck and killed a bicyclist while trying to free his flip-flop that had fallen off his foot and lodged itself under the gas pedal. But lovers of this popular fashion item should not despair – it is okay to wear flips-flops for short periods of time, at the beach, poolside or in public showers where they protect feet from hot surfaces, athlete's foot and other fungus.

I am just about ready to abandon my Blackberry for the new iPhone 4. With all the fun applications you can download, the iPhone 4 seems more like a toy then a communication device. It can also be a handy “Good Health” tool. With apps like iPhodometer, SparkPeople, DailyBurn, and ZenTimer you can use an iPhone to create a diet plan, track calorie intake, monitor your fitness level and meditate. There is even an app called iPeriod to help you keep track of your menstrual cycle. But the craziest application I have seen so far has to be the Bedometer. Bedometer measures the time and intensity of “bedroom athletics” and then allows you to post that information on Facebook. My first thought was – OMG . . . really? I would be very surprised to hear any of my female friends say, “Yikes I can’t believe I just ate that super-size brownie, better work it off with my iPhone.” But my Good Health mission is to increase awareness so if Bedometer sounds like something that would be a nice addition to your health/fitness routine you should download Bedometer today.

Make the time to be good to you and enjoy a Berry-Good Smoothie. At only 161 calories it is a healthy and tasty treat. Just combine these ingredients in a blender and process until smooth -- 1 cup berries (raspberries, strawberries and/or blueberries), ¼ cup pomegranate juice, ¼ cup water, half of a banana and 1 cup ice.

Good Health!

Terry

“I don’t have time for bad decisions.” ~Kirstie Alley