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

June 2010

Over the next few months most of you will fire up the grill and enjoy at least one delicious barbequed meal. For years we have been warned not to undercook our meat but now it seems that overcooking meat could be as bad if not worse. People who eat charred or well-done barbequed meat increase their risk of developing cancer by as much at three times. That’s because when meats are prepared over high heat carcinogenic chemicals known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) develop. The American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that backyard chefs: 1. Keep meats from directly touching the flames, 2. Remove all charred or burnt portions before eating, 3. Choose a lean cut of meat to help avoid the flare-ups and smoke caused by fat dripping onto the coals and 4. Marinate the meat—it makes those risky substances less likely to form according to scientific studies. Be careful and grill responsibly!

There is no doubt that Spanx have revolutionized the control and body shaping industry. But the illusion of a slim, tone booty may come with an annoying health side effect – yeast infections. There are a growing number of women on the Internet who claim that wearing Spanx caused their repeated yeast infections. We have been through this kind of hysteria before with panty hose and thong underwear. And, if you are one of the 4 in 10 women who owns a pair of Spanx you probably feel like the benefit outweighs the risk. Yes, synthetic materials tend to increase the temperature of the genital area and can be a contributing factor in the development of a yeast infection. But so far there haven’t been any medical alerts issued for these popular power panties. The reality of the situation: It’s not a good idea to wear your Spanx everyday. Wear your Spanx without fear – on special occasions and short-term only. Let yourself breathe!

Today I am celebrating half a century of life with more gusto than I originally anticipated. Maybe that’s because the last 6 months have been life changing. Or maybe it’s because I finally realized that when you hit the 50-year mark you just say what the heck. Starting today, and over the next 50 years, I promise that as long as there is still one of you reading my monthly ramblings I will keep reminding you to make the time to be good to you.

Good Health!

Terry

“For what occasion do you need the not-waterproof mascara?”
~Sarah Silverman