One Big Health Nut

Form is the posture and positioning of your body during each movement of any exercise.  Slow deliberate movements are essential to exercise.  Your movements during exercise should be slow and concise. Whether you are weight training, doing yoga, or working your abdominal muscles, you must use slow deliberate movements.  This doesn’t mean your exercise routine must be slow paced.  This means your movements should be concentrated, focused, and intentional.  Slow movements ensure you are performing the exercise properly, not using the joints and momentum to complete your repetition.  Performing each movement slowly allows you to concentrate on your form.  And your form influences the gains you make. Make each repetition count. 

Most people underestimate the importance of stretching. Stretching takes up extra time that could be consumed with more important activities.  Perhaps you think if you stop to stretch you will have to reduce the time spent on the rest of your workout.  If that turns out to be true, don’t fret.  Stretching is an essential element of health.  Stretching is as important as the exercise.  Stretching prevents injury and prepares your body for your workout.  Stretching after exercise increases flexibility, another element of health.  Flexibility allows you to maximize your movements while you perform each repetition. 

Work your muscles evenly.  Many people concentrate their efforts on specific muscles.  Time is limited and most individuals don’t want to waste a second’s worth of time on a body part that doesn’t accentuate the parts they most wish to emphasize.  The problem with this mentality is that your muscle groups work in conjunction with one another.  Each muscle group has a corresponding “partner” group.  When one set of muscles is contracting, the opposite muscle group is relaxing to allow the movement.  If one muscle group is worked more than the other, that muscle group will be stronger.  The stronger muscle group may respond quicker to a movement.  If the weaker corresponding muscle group doesn’t react as quickly, an injury to the muscle will occur. 

There are numerous compelling reasons why you should make changes in your life to become more environmentally friendly.  Among the most important reasons would be your health.  Scientists have warned that the effects of global warming over the next several decades will have serious health implications on people.  The dangers confronting us due to the environmental effects of global warming include increased incidents of both water and food borne diseases, substantial increases in the number of skin cancer cases, and the spread of serious diseases such as West Nile virus and Malaria. 

The idea of impacting your world globally is overwhelming and implausible all at once.  It is difficult to believe that small every day changes that you make could help solve a crisis facing an entire planet.  And even if you did decide to make the recommended changes and take action, with millions of people across the globe continuing on their current path, how could your actions make a difference and offset theirs?  Believe it or not, the answer to that question is simple.  What could it hurt? 

What could it hurt?  You’re probably wondering, what does that mean?  It means that by taking action you are contributing to saving your world, the people you love, future people you will love, and people you don’t even know.  It means that every little bit helps preserve a little more of our planet’s habitable condition.  Isn’t your health worth the extra effort, regardless of whether you believe you can make a difference?  If you do nothing then you know the environmental conditions will continue to decline and you are contributing to the problem.  But if you make the small changes suggested by experts you will have the benefit of knowing you are doing something to improve the conditions of the environment and preserve the health of ours and future generations.   

Here is a list of changes you can make to help reduce global warming: 

1.     Change your light bulbs:  Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) instead of the standard light bulbs.   Experts report that if every household in the US replaced their standard incandescent bulb with the CFL bulb, 90 billion pounds of pollution contributing to global warming would be eliminated. 

2.     Use appliances that have the Energy Star Labels.  You could reduce the amount of energy and water you currently use by almost half.  This would not only help save the environment, it would help you save too. 

3.     Drive an energy efficient vehicle and reduce the carbon emissions you are sending into the air. 

4.     Use electricity that comes from renewable resources.  If you aren’t sure if this is available in your area, check with your local government.   

5.     Recycle and buy recycled products.  Reducing waste will cut the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by over 2000 pounds each year.

The Center for Disease Control and the ACSM recently revised and published the newest updates to the national exercise guidelines, which were recently released to the public.  Since the updates in the last several years haven’t seemed to eradicate the pressing health concern of physical inactivity, the newest guidelines issued were very specific in details.  Public health officials are alarmed over the rise in obesity and obesity related illnesses in this country.  The goal of experts is to educate the public on the crucial need for physical activity to promote and attain good health. 

The new exercise guidelines specify the types and amounts of exercise necessary for weight loss and for promoting good health.  Two kinds of exercise are recommended, aerobic exercise and strength training.   

Aerobic exercise should be performed five days a week for thirty minutes at a   moderate intensity level.  The amount of aerobic exercise necessary depends on the individual’s fitness requirements and level.  The aerobic requirements cited above is the minimum amount of exercise recommended to reduce your risk of chronic diseases and to maintain good health.  Someone who is overweight and wants to lose weight must do significantly more than the minimum requirement.  To lose weight, the recommendation is to do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise five days each week.   

·        What counts as aerobic exercise?  Walking at a very brisk pace.  Jogging, running, bicycling, swimming, and rowing are all aerobic exercises.  The activity must be performed at a moderate to high intensity level.  The exercise should be difficult to perform, but not impossible.  

·        What doesn’t count as aerobic exercise?   Walking at a casual pace for any reason and housework are not aerobic exercise.  These activities are physical activity and can help burn calories and keep you moving.  So don’t start parking closer to the doors because you think it doesn’t make a difference.  Every little bit of movement helps contribute to good health.  But to impact your risk of chronic conditions and to attain good health, you must perform actual aerobic exercise. 

Strength Training is activities that require the use of the major muscles in the body.  The recommendation is that you perform strength training exercises at least two days each week, allowing a minimum of 48 hours of rest for the muscles used.  The recommended strength training program should include 8 to 10 exercises at 8 to 12 repetitions each.  The exercises should cause exhaustion after the total repetitions are completed.   

You can use your body for resistance or weights.  Examples of strength training using your body as the resistance would be push ups, pull ups, and dips.  The weight amount you use should depend on your fitness level.  Choose a weight that will allow you to perform the total amount of repetitions (8 to 12) but make it impossible for you to do even 1 additional repetition.  You will need to experiment to find the correct weight amount.  And as you adjust to the weight, you will need to increase the weight or the repetitions.   

The new guidelines require a commitment of time and effort.  It is understandable if you are not able to achieve the exercise requirements immediately.  You may have to work up to the time demands by conditioning your body.  If you are physically only able to endure 20 or 30 minutes of exercise, then start there.  Do not let your limitations keep you from performing any exercise.  You will eventually reach the recommended minimum limits if you work at it.   

Increase your intensity at regular intervals based on your capabilities.  And if you are unable to exercise for the recommended time amount because of scheduling issues or time constraints, then exercise at a higher intensity for a shorter period of time.  Don’t skip workouts.  You should aim to exercise every day.  Skipping days will make it more difficult to return to exercising and will affect your fitness level.  Once exercise becomes part of your regular daily routine, you will find it will be easier to maintain a regular exercise schedule.  You may even grow to enjoy it! 

As if sticking to a healthy nutritious daily diet isn’t difficult enough, along come cravings to take it from hard to impossible.  All day you avoid the usual snack traps; vending machines, candy dishes, the open bakery box on the table.  And just when you think you’ve made it beyond the worry zone, it happens.  You are hit with a craving for food you know you should not eat.  You try to ignore the craving.  You try to avoid the craving.  You even try to outwit the craving.  But it doesn’t work.  You are unable to elude the craving.  So you give in. 

You are not alone.  Cravings are a common dilemma faced by people just like you everyday.  You just need to learn how to beat your cravings.   

1.     Determine what kind of food you are craving.  Is it a salty food? Is it a sweet food?  Is it a candy?  Are you craving chocolate?  Are you craving cake?  Once you identify which type of snack you are craving, find a low-fat, low-calorie substitute.  For example, if you are in the mood for cookies try eating a 100 calorie pack of Teddy Grahams or mini Oreo’s.  Instead of ice cream, eat a half cup serving of frozen yogurt.   

2.     Satisfy your craving.  You don’t have to eat an entire piece of cake or candy bar to satisfy a craving.  Try eating two bites of the cake or a couple of squares of chocolate.  But only try this if you believe this will work for you.  If you are the type of person that cannot stop at just one or two of something, then don’t try this option. 

3.     Drink two glasses of water.  Often when people think they are craving food, it is because they are thirsty.  If you drink the water and still feel like you want the food, then force yourself to wait an hour before giving in to the craving.  If you aren’t really hungry you may find once the hour is up you no longer crave the food. 

4.     Distract yourself.  A great distraction is exercise.  Usually after finishing exercise the craving will have passed.  Sometimes the exercise will cause your body to crave something a little healthier.  If you are still craving an illicit food after you exercise, indulge yourself a little.  Try option 1 or 2 above.  At least you will have burned some calories and boosted your metabolism before you indulged. 

5.     Increase your fiber intake.  The recommended daily intake of fiber is 35g.  Most people do not consume the recommended amount per day.  Increasing your fiber intake has been proven to reduce cravings.  Besides being very filling, fiber reduces spikes in your blood sugar levels.  This reduces cravings and is extremely healthy for you. 

Have you ever heard of DMAE?  When you think of energy supplement, hangover cure, or mood and skin enhancer is this the supplement that comes to mind?  Perhaps it should.  DMAE is an organic compound.  The long name for DMAE is Dimethylamineothanol.   Research is not yet complete or definitive on the benefits or risks of the DMAE supplement.  Currently DMAE has been found to have many benefits.  However at least one study has suggested that too much of DMAE can have a life shortening effect.   

Presently, the benefits of DMAE are impressive.  DMAE increases the production of energy in the body.   Athletes claim to experience increased levels of energy after consumption.  Due to the increased level of energy, some claim that DMAE also improves athletic performance.  DMAE is also credited with increased alertness.  Increased levels of energy can provide the motivation you need to take your work outs to the next level. 

DMAE has other useful benefits too.  The headaches and mood depression linked with hangovers have proven to decrease in incidence after a 6 week period of supplementation with DMAE.  DMAE has also been credited with alleviating anxiety, increasing assertiveness, and increasing motivation.  People suffering with depression have shown mood improvements after 6 weeks of supplementing DMAE.   

The benefits are not limited to just those above, though.  DMAE has proven to improve skin when applied topically in a cream.  DMAE is reported to increase intelligence in children.  DMAE has also shown to improve creativity.  Children with Down syndrome showed improvement in mental functions and behavior.  And Alzheimer patients displayed signs of improved functioning after supplementing DMAE.