FitSugar

High Blood Pressure? Take a Short Walk

FitSugar — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 04:23:55 -0800

Researchers at the University of Indiana have found that short bursts of exercise, rather than long durations, will help lower blood pressure. While the study found that both forms of exercise (short and long) lowered blood pressure by the same amount, the effect lasted for 11 hours with 10-minute walks compared to seven hours for 40 minutes of walking.

What do the numbers mean? Depending on your age and heart history, a healthy blood pressure is anywhere from 120/80-140/80. Systolic (high number) measures when the heart contracts and pumps blood out. Diastolic (low number) measures between the beats, as your heart fills with blood again.

Fit's Tip: It is much easier to find the time for 10 minute walks -- So if you're looking to lower your blood pressure then go for a walk during your lunch hour. If you're doing a lot of traveling, take a short walk through the terminal during your layovers.

Bone Health Requires Some Specific Exercise

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:36 -0800

Turns out if you want to keep your bones healthy, you'd better start young and be specific about which exercise you choose. The New York Times reveals the findings of a new study which indicates that, contrary to popular belief, "any and all activity" may not benefit your bones.

In fact, as researchers investigate the effect of exercise on bone health, it has become increasingly clear that various kinds of exercise produces varying results on bone conditioning. Until recently, researchers believed that the impact of running, or any similar high-impact exercise, would transform the bone, "deforming" it just slightly. As a result of running, the bone would give slightly to the force of the physical activity, and the bone cells would stretch in response and adapt to the repeated exercise by adding cells and becoming denser. But this is not the case. In actuality, researchers have now found that the bone cells don't stretch; instead, when the bone bends, it "squeezes bone fluid" from one part of the bone "matrix" to another, and it's this extra fluid that causes the cells to add denser bone in response.

The key is that only certain types of exercise produce this kind of bone-bending, and the subsequent response to add dense bone-building. Says Alexander G. Robling, an assistant professor in the department of anatomy and cell biology at Indiana University School of Medicine, "large forces released in a relatively big burst” are crucial to building healthy bones, which is why activities like weight lifting won't help bone-bend or produce stronger, denser bones. But the exercises that will? Running, brisk walking at a fast pace, and surprisingly, repeated jumping.

What's the Deal With Seeing Double?

FitSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0700

I'm not proud to admit it, but once or twice, I've consumed one too many drinks to the point of having double vision. Oddly, we don't always have to be totally trashed to see double. Have you ever gotten home from a night of liquid calorie indulgence, plopped down on the couch, and been surprised to find not one but two TVs?

So what causes it exactly? I was excited to find the answer in the (appropriately titled) Answer Fella column in the most recent issue of Esquire. Apparently, alcohol effects the nerves in your brain and brain stem that govern your eye movements. According to Indiana University professor Bruce Martin:

"It slows down the brain so you can't get the eyes tracking on something quickly. The time it takes to get your two eyes - their images - to fuse to give you a single image increases when you drink." . . . Covering one eye can help, he notes, "because then you don't have your brain comparing the two images. You just have the one image."

Fascinating, right? If somewhat disturbing! Now that you know what's causing it, will you make more of an effort to avoid seeing double? Also, let me remind you that you should limit yourself to one alcoholic beverage a day and if you're seeing double don't try to drive covering one eye. Call a cab instead.

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Are Poinsettias Poisonous?

FitSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:30:00 -0800

Christmas brings up so many varied memories. One of mine from childhood doesn't involve Santa but something else red and pretty. When I was about five years old, my mom yelled at me for touching the poinsettia plant at our local post office. She told me the plant was poisonous, and I believed her, so I haven't gone near one since. It turns out, though, that those scarlet red leaves are totally harmless. Dr. Rachel Vreeman, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, says "The American Association of Poison Control Centers has a record of 22,793 cases of human poinsettia ingestion and zero resulted in significant poisoning. Ninety-six percent of the poinsettia-eaters didn't even need to see a doctor." I guess moms don't know everything, but don't tell my girls.

So feel free to decorate your home with these festive plants. If you're worried about a child or pet getting into them, it's best to keep the poinsettia plants somewhere they can be enjoyed visually, like on the mantle where they cannot be fondled or chewed.

Fit's Tip: It's definitely a good rule of thumb to contact the poison control center or your local vet if a person or pet has eaten any nonfood item that you're concerned about.

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Vegetarian Friendly Colleges

FitSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:30:00 -0700

PETA2, PETA's answer for reaching out to the younger folks, has scoured the country for the most vegetarian friendly colleges nationwide. To see if your school or alma mater makes the top ten, read more

Indiana University-Bloomington
Humboldt State University
University of Puget Sound
Yale University
SUNY Purchase
Oberlin College
New York University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Pennsylvania
University of Florida

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5 Reasons to Love Omega-3 Fatty Acids

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0700

The age of nonfat foods seems to be drawing to a close as the benefits of certain fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, make the headlines almost daily. Found mostly in cold-water fish like salmon (here's my new favorite wild salmon recipe), omega-3s do some wonderful things for your body. Here are five of them.

Keeps the aches and pains at bay: Recent studies at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that taking a fish-oil supplement for 20 to 30 days relieved chronic back and neck pain. This may be due to omega-3's ability to fight inflammation.
Fights obesity with fat: Omega-3s improve the body's response to insulin by stimulating the secretion of leptin. Leptin is an hormone that helps regulate not only food intake, but body weight and metabolism as well.
Improves your mood: This form of fat has been shown to stabilize and lessen mood swings as well as decrease depression by helping the brain create the feel-good brain chemical serotonin.

There's a couple more reasons so read more.

Reduces exercise induced asthma: In a recent study at Indiana University found that fish-oil supplements helped control exercise-triggered asthma symptoms.
Keeps the heart healthy: One of the well known benefits of omega-3s is for heart health. The fat helps to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, which are both associated with heart disease when the levels are too high. Omega-3s also help lower blood pressure. Plus, these fats fight inflammation, which contributes to heart disease as well.

Fit's Tip: It is difficult to eat the recommended 1,100mg daily. The easiest way to ensure that you are eating enough omega-3s is to take a fish-oil supplement.

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"ACT"ivism: Outrun The Sun Run/Walk

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Looking for a race in the Indianapolis area?

The 2007 Outrun the Sun Race supports melanoma education and research initiatives at Outrun the Sun, Inc. (The race was started by two families who lost loved ones to melanoma.) The event includes a 5-Mile competitive run, 5K non-competitive run/walk and a 1-Mile non-competitive fun walk. The course takes participants in and around the streets of downtown Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Canal Walk and the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The event is on Saturday June 2, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Why so late? Well this is a race to fight skin cancer, so it is only fitting that participants run while the sun is not at its peak. Visit OutRuntheSun.org to register online and for more information on the event.

Health Tip: Smaller More Specific Goals

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:45:00 -0700

I am a goal oriented person, but I just read that ambiguous goals are less motivating since they seem harder to attain. Allison Chopra, a fitness expert at Indiana University, believes goals like "losing weight" or "feeling better" are too amorphous to measure on a daily or weekly basis so they don't help you stay focused. It is always helpful to remember that weight loss takes time since dropping 1 to 2 pounds a week is considered safe, doable and maintainable.

Chopra believes people need to be SMART about their goals and yes that is a helpful acronym. SMART is a fitness industry catch phrase and it breaks down like this - goals should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reward (as in, give yourself one when you've achieved a goal) and Time (set a time for reaching the goal). Seems easy to do, right?

Chopra often gives her clients' goals a little bit of a make over. If the over all, long term goal is to feel healthier, the short term goal is to get 8 hours of sleep a night for a week. (Do you think the reward would be an afternoon nap on Sunday?) She would replace the ambiguous goal of "eating healthy" with limiting the intake of sugar for a week. Instead of eliminating fat from all food, she suggests a focus on eating breakfast every morning. Of course, the best way to track your goals is to keep a journal!

I am curious if you have any specific goals. Tell me about them in the comments section below.

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