Balance Your Health

Healthy Habits for a Healthy Lifestyle - Does It Matter?

I have friends and close relatives who claim that living a healthy lifestyle is not going to keep them living longer. They would prefer to enjoy the life they know, which includes smoking, no regular exercise and little green anything in their food. They do not want to go through life disciplining themselves and not enjoying what they have now.

My friends and relatives are not altogether wrong.

Is Aerobic Exercise the Best Exercise For You?

Aerobic fitness or cardiovascular fitness is the ability of your heart and lungs to supply your muscles with enough oxygen so you aren't winded or fatigued when you climb stairs, walk a few blocks, or take out the garbage.

This is the second in a series of what exercise is best for you. The first talked about exercising to prevent disease.You can read it here.

In this post about aerobic fitness you need to work out if not more often then for sure more intensely. You need to push your rate to between 60 and 90 percent of its maximum rate. You can calculate that by subtracting your age from 220.

Jogging can push your rate into that aerobic zone but it is often viewed as too demanding because of the stress it places on the hips, knees shins and feet. However, brisk walking with arms swinging can also get you to your aerobic rate especially if you're walking on hilly ground with lots of ups and downs.

Low-impact aerobic dance is another alternative. You usually can increase the intensity by increasing the arm movements you make at or above shoulder level. Arm movements make the heart pump blood against gravity.

Step aerobics also works. This exercise involves stepping on and off a low bench while moving your arms, usually in time to music. Swimming can help you reach your aerobic rate but overweight people may have to work even harder to get a good workout since their extra body fat lets them float more easily. If water is your favorite place to be, try rowing or kayaking. You might as well have fun while you are exercising.

During the winter months snowshoeing and cross country skiing are wonderful aerobic exercises. The new high tech snowshoes are surprisingly light and easy to maneuver.

A good way to make sure you get in your aerobic exercise is to find a friend and exercise together. This is probably the most simple but the most effective way to enliven an otherwise routine jog or brisk walk.

If you have suggestions for other ways to reach your aerobic rate, type your suggestions in the comment box. Sharing tips is always a good idea.

To your success at a balanced health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Which Exercise Is Best For You?

If you are at all even a little health conscious, you already know the benefits of exercise:

• Reduces the risk of disease;
• Increases stamina;
• Builds strength;
• Burns calories;
• And relieves stress.

What you may not have considered is that exercising the wrong activity can be depressing or even harmful. For instance, let's say you are overweight and need to lose 45 pounds. If you start off with a vigorous running program, you are likely to not only end up sore but your knees and hips will probably hurt because the exercise may be too hard and overwhelm your joints at your current weight. Not only that, you probably won't burn off more than a couple of pounds in a month and that will be disappointing.

One of the first things you need to do is to figure out WHY you are exercising, what is the purpose of your exercising, and then find the exercises that fulfill that purpose the best. I am going to describe several possibilities in the next few posts. I thought it fitting that this first post describe what you can do to reduce your risk of disease because this type of exercise needs to become part of your lifestyle. After all, as long as you are living your body will do its best to protect you.

Any regular exercise that requires continued movement, such as walking or bicycling, reduces your risk of major diseases including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and probably cancer. The more intense your work out the more you reduce your risk. However, the greatest benefit is for inactive people who start doing even a little exercise.

To get that modest, disease preventing dose of exercise you don't need special work out clothes. Gardening, dancing, and chasing after your grand children are moderate exercises. You could add some exercise into your daily routine by parking your car two or three blocks from the office and walking or doing the housecleaning and gardening with more speed and energy.

You may also consider taking on some strength training because it reduces your risk of osteoporosis, the loss of bone mass. Strength training workouts put more pressure on your bones, especially your spine than nonweight bearing exercises such as swimming or cycling or even moderately weight bearing exercise such as walking. Keeping your bones in shape will keep you exercising longer without problems which mean your body will be able to fight off disease that much longer.

Those are all good things and certainly worth the exercise.

To your success at a balanced life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Divorce Harmful To Middle Aged Women's Health

Divorce or widowhood leave a lasting scar on the health of middle aged and older people, especially women says a recent study. Remarriage may repair some of the damage done but those who remain single are less healthy than those who remarry.

The reports that married couples are healthier than single people were published several years ago. This new study, about what happens when the marriage breaks up, shows that there is a lot more stress that takes place than originally considered. This study looked at chronic conditions, mobility limitations, self rated health and depression symptoms during middle age. The research found that when marriage is disrupted with divorce or death, it has a long impact negatively affecting all four areas.

Participants in the study, published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, were at least age 50. One of the conclusions was that the health conditions that resulted after a marriage ended were worse than if the woman had been single her entire life.

What I found particularly interesting was that the study results motivated the question: when a middle aged woman is treated for high cholesterol or high blood pressure with medication, should the whole person be treated or just the obvious symptoms? The thinking is that it may be the loss of the marriage that is resulting in this condition due to the extremely high level of stress. Apparently, a toxic relation is toxic to a woman's whole health.

No such findings could be related to men. For men a problematic marriage may cause some emotional issues but not physical concerns. Obviously women are more affected by relationship issues than men and attach more importance to the emotions within relationships then men do. I am guessing that is why women have so many girlfriends - for support.

Your thoughts?

To your success at a well balance life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Control

Part of the nutritional theory about artificial sweeteners is that they were carbohydrate free and had no effect on how your body handles glucose or sugar. Now that theory is being tested. As reported in the December 2009 issue of Diabetes Care, published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, researchers are studying the effects of artificial sweeteners on glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide-1, GL-1, which is a hormone released from your digestive tract that signals a sense of fullness to the brain and helps to control blood sugar.

Although there is some evidence that artificial sweeteners my make you feel more full or fuller sooner but they warn not to start drinking or eating foods with artifical sweetener because even by itself it can cause some insulin release.

What is interesting, however, is that the use of artificial sweeteners has increased together with the higher rate of obesity in the U.S. The problem is that food sweetened with artifical sweeteners may still have calories in them such as diet cookies which contains fat among other ingredients. Thinking there is no sugar, people simply eat too many cookies and the calories increase. Also, you don't experience quite the same feeling of satiety as you do with a food that contains sugar which means you are likely to eat more.

If you are diabetic you may use artificial sweeteners because they make food taste sweet without raising blood sugar levels. But keep in mind some foods containing artificial sweeteners, such as sugar free yogurt, can still affect your blood sugar level due to other carbohydrates or proteins in the food. Some foods labeled sugar free may contain sweeteners such as sorbitol or mannitol which do contain calories and can affect your blood sugar level.

One disclaimer: although artificial sweeteners on the market are considered safe by the Food and Drug Administration, not everyone one believes there is enough evidence to make that statement. My advice is use the artificial sweeteners in moderation. If you drink diet soda you may want to put sugar in your coffee or tea.

Since there are no good rules, anyone have suggestions about what is a moderate use of artificial sweeteners?

To your well balanced health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Art Artificial Alternatives a Safe Alternative to Sugar?

Too much sugar will make you fat but too much artificial sweetener can kill you? Help you lose weight? Have no effect on you what so ever?

I had no idea that the first artificial sweetener was discovered in 1897 by a Johns Hopkins University scientist working on coal-tar derivatives but it makes for good trivia. It wasn't used much because it left a better taste but when cyclamate came on the market in 1951 it was touted as the answer to better teeth and weight loss because it could replace sugar.

In the late 1960s, studies were made linking cyclamate to cancer on chicken embryos being injected and rats getting malignant tumors. There's a law that says the FDA has to ban any food additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals so cyclamate was removed from all food products. Saccharin was required to carry a warning label. In 2000 saccharin was removed from the list of suspected carcinogens.

More history. Back in 1981 the synthetic compound aspartame was approved for use and it became the leading additive in diet colas. Then in 1995 there was misinformation that linked aspartame to everything from multiple sclerosis to polio and it was plastered over the Internet. It is true that some people can't handle aspartame because they can't metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine; more than 200 tests showed at the time that Diet Coke was safe to drink. Nor have any health risks been detected for sucralose, a chemically altered sugar molecule found in food, drinks, chewing gum and Splenda.

It is amazing about all the misinformation that have targeted these artificial sweeteners. Another one is that they cause obesity. Not so. People believe they are not consuming as much sugar in food with artificial sweeteners so they consume more of that food and put on weight. Eating more puts on weight.

The general consensus is that saccharin, aspartame and sucralose are not harmful when consumed in moderation. Cyclamate is still banned in the U.S. although it is available in other countries. And low calorie additives won't make you thinner or curb your appetite but they do make unsweetened food taste better and they won't hurt you. Large amounts of sugar put on weight so do refer to sugar substitutes as a way to enjoy your food.

To your well balanced health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Boost Your Immune System

Most people don't realize that the skin is one of the more vital components of your immune system. The skin not only forms a wall against intruders but it actually alerts the white blood cells if the you cut yourself and bacteria enters your wound. That is why, if your skin is whole and unbroken it's almost impossible to pick up an infection from a toilet seat.

Most of the infections we have get inside when we inhale them or swallow them. They make their way into the blood and move rapidly through the body. All of which is why we are told to wash our hands because it is our hands we put on our face and touch our nose or mouth which starts the infection.

The other interesting fact is that the immune system has its own circulation system call lymphatic vessels which allow the white cells to reach the intruders. Other parts of the immune system include your tonsils, adenoids, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, appendix, and some areas of the small intestine and bone marrow.

A healthy diet helps you maintain your immune system. All those parts need nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals and fatty acids which is why malnourished people are prone to getting sick. There are many theories but not much proof yet that a particular nutritional supplement will boost your immune system. However, being deficient in a vitamin such as the B vitamins for seniors. Even extra vitamin C has been shown to have minimal or no effect on the immune system.

On the other hand, people who exercise have a better immune system than those who are sedentary. Even so over doing exercise isn't going to do much good and may even cause injuries. It makes sense. Regular aerobic exercise is good for the heart. Weight-bearing exercise builds bone and muscle. Your body will function better with exercise which means your immune system will also be in better shape.

The best effort you can take is to eat a varied, balanced diet of fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy products with small amounts of meat and fish. Getting enough sleep is also helpful and of course, don't smoke.

No secrets here!

To your well balanced and healthy lifestyle,

Ruthan