Wellness Archives - Page 3 of 5

Is caffine really bad for you?

Jul 17, 2018 | Ask Mr. Pedometer and Friends..., Health, Nutrition, Wellness

March 26, 2018 –

ASK MR. PEDOMETER & FRIENDS

Q: Mr. Pedometer, is drinking coffee bad for one’s health? I have heard conflicting reports.

A: It can be difficult to sort out what is “fake news,” even about health. Consumer Report on Health went through five commonly stated ‘facts” about drinking coffee and reported which were true and which were myths. Here is an excerpt:

COFFEE IS BAD FOR YOUR HEART = FALSE! Healthy people who drink 3-5 cups of coffee per day had a 15 percent decreased risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those who drank no coffee, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. However, government dietary guidelines recommend that most adults should limit caffeine to 2-4 eight-ounce cups of coffee per day.
COFFEE BOOSTS YOUR BRAIN = TRUE! Caffeine can increase alertness and concentration – possibly even boosting cognitive performance. More recent research has found that “regular coffee drinkers seem to have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s, conditions that may affect the sharpness of your brain.”
COFFEE HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT = FALSE! “While some studies suggest that coffee drinking may reduce your appetite, none have proved it can help you shed pounds.” Those who drink their coffee black consume no calories, but adding a teaspoon of sugar adds 16 calories, and a 1-ounce splash of cream can add 60 more – possibly leading to weight gain rather than a loss.
ESPRESSO HAS MORE CAFFEINE THAN REGULAR COFFEE = TRUE! An ounce of espresso contains 2-5 times as much caffeine as a regular cup of coffee…but you can get more caffeine from a regular cup of coffee since you likely drink more than on ounce or two. (If an espresso feels like a greater jolt, it may be because you drink it down more quickly.)
DECAF ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU = FALSE! Times have changed: The harsh, carcinoginous chemicals that used to be used to strip caffeine from coffee beans have been replaced with milder chemicals that the Food and Drug Administration says are in amounts too minuscule to affect health. Decaf coffee may have some of the same benefits as regular coffee: “A large study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2017 showed that people who had just one to three cups of coffee a day – regular or decaf – had a 12-18 percent lower risk of dying from any cause during the 16-year study period.”

So that’s good news for those of us who start (and continue?) each day with a cup of hot coffee.

EAT RIGHT,

MOVE MORE,

AND SLEEP WELL,

FOR A HEALTHY, LONGER LIFE!

Working on Wellness: Making a change for better health

May 22, 2018 | Uncategorized, Wellness

Working on Wellness: Making a change for better health

This is a great article for women’s health from www.gosanangelo.com on simple small ways to make healthy changes for a healthier life. (Good for you guys too!)

SMALL LIFESTYLE CHANGES ADD UP

Cutting one 12-ounce can of soda out of your diet daily equals about 150 calories less per day. In one month that would equal 4,500 calories and in one year you would be consuming 54,750 less calories. Since 3,500 calories equal one pound of body fat, you would lose over 15 pounds in one year, just from one small change.

On the flip side, small changes on the activity side of the equation, also add up. For example, if you walked 15 extra minutes per day, this would burn an extra 80 calories per day and 29,200 extra calories per year, resulting in a losing eight pounds in one year — just from one small lifestyle change.

PROTECT YOUR KNEES

Losing just 10 percent of your body weight significantly slows the loss of the knee cartilage in overweight adults with osteoarthritis. The weight loss could relieve pain and even delay knee replacement.

IMPROVE BRAIN BLOOD FLOW

It’s never too late for women to reap the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a three-month study of 16 women age 60 and older, brisk walking for 30-50 minutes three or four times per week improved blood flow through to the brain as much as 15 percent.

EXERCISE AWAY THE URGE

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 percent of smokers really do want to quit. There’s an often overlooked “secret weapon” that can help you to stop smoking, and that’s regular physical exercise. Exercise helps limit weight gain and it also helps in dealing with cravings for a cigarette. Studies have shown that even moderate physical activity, especially aerobic exercise, reduces the urge to smoke. Withdrawal symptoms and cravings for cigarettes decrease during exercise and for as long as 50 minutes afterward.

HOW MANY FOOTBALL FIELDS?

You would need to walk the length of three football fields to burn off the calories in one potato chip. If you eat a bag of M & M’s, you would need to walk the length of 53 football fields to burn off those calories.

A DAILY WALK

A team of investigators from UCLA found that adults over the age of 60 who are already struggling with memory issues are better able to focus and process information if they walk more than 4,000 steps a day (roughly 2 miles). The study revealed that those who walked more than 4,000 steps each day had thicker areas of the brain known to be critical to thought processing. What’s more, such avid walkers demonstrated “better cognitive functioning.”

What does “Wellness” mean and how do you get there?

May 2, 2018 | Ask Mr. Pedometer and Friends..., Wellness

ASK MR. PEDOMETER & FRIENDS…

Q: Mr. Pedometer, you call your group “World Walk to Wellness,” but what exactly is ‘wellness”?

A: That’s a good question! Wellness certainly is more than the absence of illness. May is Mental Health Month, so we turned to Mental Health America (MHA, formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) to get their definition:

“Wellness is defined as ‘an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a more successful existence.’

“Because living ‘a successful existence’ means something different to each individual, wellness can be many things, but it generally includes the pursuit of health, defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,’ and working towards achieving one’s full potential.”

MHA outlines many “pathways to wellness,” the first ones of which may sound very familiar:

Balanced diet (Eat right)
Regular exercise (Move more)
Enough sleep (Sleep well)
A sense of self-worth
Development of coping skills that promote resiliency
Emotional awareness
Connections to family, friends, and community

According to the MHA, we should “take periodic readings of our emotional well-being, just as we are careful to check our blood pressure and to get cancer screenings.” National Mental health Month might be a good time to try one of these strategies:

Be good to yourself
Show gratitude
Keep good friends close
Take care of your community
Eat one less cookie
Learn how to let go
Walk instead of driving

As for that last one, why not consider starting your weekend with a walk outdoors?

For more information on this topic go to http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may

EAT RIGHT,

MOVE MORE,

AND SLEEP WELL,

FOR A HEALTHY, LONGER LIFE!

Can spring cleaning help one’s health?

Apr 25, 2018 | Ask Mr. Pedometer and Friends..., Health, Wellness

Q: Mr. Pedometer, I am not a big fan of housework, but I wonder, can spring cleaning help one’s health?

A: Some aspects of spring housecleaning could actually save your life, while others can improve your quality of life. Realtor Kris Moxley shared tips on a recent handout, some of which follow (with Mr. Pedometer’s parenthetical comments):

CHANGE THE BATTERIES in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. (The latter, now required by law, are easily forgotten.)
CHECK YOUR MEDICINE CABINET and pantry and get rid of anything that has expired. (NOTE: Pleasanton Police Department has added a drop-off location in their lobby for expired medicines, which no longer are being accepted at the Household Hazardous Waste drop-off location in Livermore. Pleasanton’s Kaiser clinic has a similar lobby drop-off.)
REPLACE OR CLEAN your filters around your house.
WASH OR REPLACE the pillows on your bed(s).
CHECK YOUR EMERGENCY/SURVIVAL KIT to ensure that your flashlight batteries and food items are updated. (You DO have such a kit, right?)
VACUUM OUT your dryer’s vent and ducts.
CLEAN YOUR REFRIGERATOR, especially the coils, which should be vacuumed off. (While you’re at it, look inside for anything that has become green and fuzzy…. (-; )

EAT RIGHT,

MOVE MORE,

AND SLEEP WELL,

FOR A HEALTHY, LONGER LIFE!

Will Walking help those of us with high blood pressure?

Mar 21, 2018 | Ask Mr. Pedometer and Friends..., Health, Uncategorized, Walking, Wellness

Q: Mr. Pedometer, I know you encourage us all to walk frequently, but I am wondering, will that help those of us with high blood pressure?

A: This month’s AARP Bulletin reported that high blood pressure is just one of half a dozen ailments that can be improved by taking regular walks – but at different speeds and durations.

Here is an excerpt from the article by Sara Altshul, describing what walking can help:

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE – “Shoot for at least 1.75 miles at a moderate rate (3-4.5 miles per hour) most days of the week to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, says Paul T. Williams, a life sciences researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.”
ARTHRITIS – It may seem counter-intuitive that people with joint pain can feel better if they walk more, but that is what the research shows. Start with 5 minutes and build up to 30 minutes per day of walking at a leisurely pace for 5 days per week, suggests Leigh F. Callahan, assistant director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center, U. of North Carolina. “If the pain is worse two hours after the walk than it was before the walk started, take a less intense walk the next time.”
DEPRESSION – Walking fast “increases the production of serotonin, dopamine, and other brain chemicals that lift your mood, says John B. Arden, author of The Brain Bible. “Start with 10 minutes of strolling, then walk briskly to 75 percent of your maximum effort – a pace that makes talking difficult. Keep that up for 2-3 minutes, then resume a strolling pace. Repeat these intervals for 20-30 minutes.”
INSOMNIA – Exposure to daylight can help. “Bright light inhibits the body’s secretion of melatonin, our natural sleep agent,” says Donald W. Greenblatt, M.D., director of the Medicine Sleep Center at the U. of Rochester, New York. “When you block melatonin in the morning by walking outside, it then bounces back later in the day, helping to promote sleep.” Late afternoon walks also can be effective. Try for daily walks at a comfortable pace for15-30 minute, finishing your walk at least 3 hours before bedtime. “Be patient: some evidence suggests that it can take a couple of weeks to get the full benefit of exercise, so don’t be disappointed if you are not experiencing an immediate effect, Greenblatt says.”
OSTEOPOROSIS – Did you know that walking helps preserve bone? Walking 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, can make a difference. “Three 10-minute walks a day are as bone-strengthening as one 30-minute walk,” says Andrea Singer, M.D., of the national Osteoporosis Foundation.
TYPE 2 DIABETES – “Walking after eating sweets can prevent a blood sugar spike. Walk for 15 minutes at an easy pace about a half-hour after breakfast, lunch and dinner.…Because people with diabetes can develop foot infections due to reduced blood flow to the feet, it’s important to get properly fitted for walking shoes.”

So, you see, that’s even more reason why you should…

EAT RIGHT,

MOVE MORE,

AND SLEEP WELL,

FOR A HEALTHY, LONGER LIFE!

Never Too Old To Move

Jan 31, 2018 | Lifestyle Stories, Move More, Walking, Wellness

Never Too Old To Move More

By: Bob Hughes, RPh retired, director of Wellness Ministry OLOL Church, Bettendorf, Iowa

I have been given a not previously used Accusplit Pedometer by a so far anonymous friend. Does it have any features other than counting steps?

At 96 years of age, I feel very blessed to have an interest in keeping track of my movement. I was disappointed when my grandson snapped a $160.00 Garman counter on my wrist and discovered it did not count steps when I was pushing a stroller.

I have been directing a “Wellness Ministry”, that I founded in 1985, for these 32 years, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Bettendorf, Iowa. I have also assisted the director of the Wellness Committee for the last 12 years in a “Walking for Jesus,” walking program. We count and report steps as well as the number of servings per day of fruits and vegetables. I live in an independent living facility that also has its own ongoing “Tour of the United States., One Step At a Time”, so I will make good use of the Accusplit.

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