Posts made in December, 2011

While I’m not usually a big fan of “Year in Review” and “Year End Wrap-Up” articles, I felt the following information (copied verbatim) from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index was worth passing along. I have taken the opportunity to add a few of my own comments and personal opinions just to liven up the conversation.

Gallup in 2011 published nearly 100 unique articles about Americans’ health and wellbeing. Through its daily surveys, conducted year-round, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index uncovers new insights into and provides the most up-to-date data available on Americans’ mental state, exercise and eating habits, healthcare coverage, physical health, and financial wellbeing. The following list comprises Gallup editors’ picks for the top 10 most compelling findings from this year.

1. Lengthy, cumbersome job searches lower wellbeing: The longer Americans are unemployed, the more job applications they fill out, and the more job interviews they go on, the worse their wellbeing becomes. Unemployed Americans who have been out of work for 11 weeks or more are significantly less likely to be thriving and more likely to experiences worry, stress, sadness, and anger. Unemployment coupled with a completely ineffective administration and congress represent the single biggest problem our country faces. Until we solve these two problems our economic and health-related problems will only continue to get worse.

What’s your cholesterol level? If you think that the normal reading you got 10 years ago means you’re in the clear, you may be surprised. Levels of the artery-clogging substance often rise as we age, and cardiologists say everyone 20 or older should be screened for high cholesterol at least once every five years. And those at high risk for heart disease should be screened more often. If it’s been awhile since your last cholesterol screening, now’s a good time to ask your doctor if you’re due for one.

If it turns out that your numbers are not where they should be, your doctor may suggest medication. But be aware, that while cholesterol medications are some of the most frequently prescribed drugs, there are more natural options avail to reduce cholesterol. Here are 5 ways to lower your cholesterol without medication.

1. Cut the Fat.

Reduce the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet.

2. Weight.

If you’re overweight, dropping pounds can help lower your levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad type), total cholesterol, and triglycerides.

3. Physical activity.

Regular physical activity can help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol (the good type).

4.Eat more fiber.

Fruits and vegetables, including whole grains, are good sources not only of heart-healthy antioxidants but also cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber.

5. Go fish.

Fish and fish oil are full of cholesterol-lowering omega-3 fatty acids.

As always, be sure to discuss your options with your doctor before you decide on any medications.

Article partially based on material from Health-e headlines™

Aerobic exercise, not weight training, is your best bet when it comes to saying goodbye to that dreaded belly fat, a new study finds.

This isn’t the fat that lies just under your skin and causes the unsightly muffin top. Belly or abdominal fat—known as visceral fat and liver fat—is located deep within the abdomen and fills the spaces between internal organs. It’s been associated with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer.

“When it comes to increased health risks, where fat is deposited in the body is more important than how much fat you have,” said Duke exercise physiologist Cris Slentz, PhD, lead author of the study in the American Journal of Physiology. “Our study sought to identify the most effective form of exercise to get rid of that unhealthy fat.”

The Duke study showed aerobic training greatly reduced belly fat and liver fat and improved some other risk markers for diabetes and heart disease.

Resistance (or weight) training is still effective for improving strength and increasing lean body mass. But aerobic training burned 67% more calories in the study when compared to resistance training.

Even moderation works. “What really counts is how much exercise you do, how many miles you walk, and how many calories you burn,” Dr. Slentz said. “If you choose to work at a lower aerobic intensity, it will simply take longer to burn the same amount of unhealthy fat.”

So the simple message here is get up and get moving. Start walking, hit the treadmill, go for a run. Just do something that gets your heart and breathing rates up for 30 minutes each day. You heart, belly, brain, and the rest of your body will thank you.

So what are your going to do to get rid of that belly fat? Share your thoughts.

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  Getting Started with Wellness Part 2. Physical Activity

Article partially based on material from Health-e headlines™

Did you know that a good night’s sleep can help prevent heart disease? That’s just one way to lower your risk.

Dr. Holly Andersen, director of education and outreach at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, offers some easy steps to improve heart health and overall well-being:

Step 1: Know your numbers.

Your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels are the most important numbers you will need to know before you take the path to good heart health. A normal blood pressure level is 140/85 or lower, total cholesterol levels should be less than 200, and triglycerides less than 150.

Step 2: Start walking.

Exercise really is the fountain of youth. A simple 20 to 30-minute walk a few days a week can actually cut your risk of premature death by more than half. Physical activity also improves sleep, reduces stress, elevates mood, reduces blood pressure, improves cholesterol, improves brain health, and prevents memory loss.

Step 3: Laugh out loud.

Laughter is good medicine. Just 15 minutes of laughter is about equal to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise with respect to our heart health. So choose funny movies on Netflix. Laughter has also been linked to the healthy function of blood vessels, an increase in the brain hormones that improve mood, and reduction of pain and anxiety.

Step 4: Focus on your waistline, not your weight.

Your waistline is a better measurement of your overall health than your weight because the amount of fat around your waistline is directly linked to high blood pressure and high cholesterol and can place you at increased risk for diabetes. Anything you can do to make your waistline smaller is definitely a step in the right direction. Liposuction doesn’t count!

Step 5: Get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep is one of the most undervalued elements of our daily routines, but it is absolutely vital to good health. Lack of sleep increases your blood pressure, induces stress, increases your appetite and slows down your metabolism, dampens your mood and decreases your brain power.

For those who already have heart disease, here’s another way to heal your heart

Attending a non-religious spiritual retreat can help patients with severe heart trouble feel less depressed and more hopeful about the future, a University of Michigan Health System study has found.

Heart patients who participated in a 4-day retreat that included techniques such as meditation, guided imagery, drumming, journal writing, and outdoor activities saw immediate and longer lasting improvement in tests measuring depression and hopefulness. The study conducted by University of Michigan researchers was published inExplore: the Journal of Science and Healing.

Quick Quote: What your heart thinks is great, is great. Emerson

Article partially based on material from Health-e headlines™

Even if the pre-recession days of “conspicuous consumption” are over, Americans still generate an incredible amount of trash through their purchases of food, household products, and other goods.

Some trashing facts

• According to the EPA in 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash.
• The US produces half of the world’s garbage, but has only 6% of the world’s people!
• In the US, each person generates about 4.3 pounds of trash a day. For a family of four, that’s 6278 pounds, or more than THREE TONS of trash each year!
• There is a trash vortex in the North Pacific that is an area the size of Texas. There an estimated six kilos of plastic for every kilo of natural plankton, along with other slow degrading garbage, swirls slowly around like a clock, choked with dead fish, marine mammals, and birds who get snared. Some plastics in the gyre will not break down in the lifetimes of the grandchildren of the people who threw them away.

There are things you can do to help reduce this sea of trash we find our planet floating in:

Consider the packaging: Choose laundry detergent in boxes rather than plastic bottles. Milk in paper cartons instead of glass. Buy bar soap for washing dishes and bathing rather than liquid to reduce your plastic consumption.

Think about the little things: Choose matches over lighters. Say no to straws. Choose a wood cutting board instead of plastic.

Clean green: Not only will baking soda and vinegar help your home sparkle, you eliminate toxic chemicals and multiple plastic cleaning containers as well.

Buy in bulk: Choose to buy dry items from bulk bins when possible and bring your own reusable bags.

Eliminate paper: Take advantage of online banking and e-statements to save paper, money, and reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating the energy needed to deliver the statements to your door.

Reuse: Bring your own cup to the coffee shop. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Before making a purchase or discarding an item, look for ways to reuse those things you already have in your home.

So what are you going to do to save the planet and your own wellness? Share your thoughts.

Article partially based on material from Health-e headlines™

Want the solution to get a better nights sleep? It’s really simple. Get some exercise. A recent article in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity reports that people sleep significantly better and feel more alert during the day if they get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. In fact, 65% of the 2600 men and women participating in the study reported an improvement in sleep quality.

Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before

Yes, I know, but it’s true. If you want to feel better, look better, have more energy, increase your productivity, improve your ability to concentrate, and sleep better you need to start moving.

No special or unique activities were used in this study Instead, the researchers used the physical activity guidelines suggested for cardiovascular health. The study states that somewhere in the range of 35-40 percent of adults in the U.S. have problems falling asleep or have problems with daytime sleepiness.

Need more incentive? Another study found that couples’ relationship quality affects their sleep, and their sleep also affects their later relationship functioning. So there’s a good reason to start working out as a couple.

Phyllis Zee, MD, senior author and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Northwestern Medicine, says sleep is a barometer of health, like someone’s temperature. If a person says he or she isn’t sleeping well, they are more likely to be in poor health.

The take-away from these studies is that physical activity is not just good for the waistline and heart, but it can also help you get a better nights sleep. While at times it may be easier, when you are tired, to skip the workout and go to sleep, but it may be beneficial for your long-term health to make the hard decision and do some exercise.

There is one caveat

If you exercise in the evening make sure to give yourself two or three hours for your body to cool down after exercise or you create sleep problems for yourself.

Start today taking this simple step to ensure a better nights sleep then come back and share your experiences.