FitSugar

Blisters Hurt, Treatment Shouldn't

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:30:00 PDT

Yesterday, while running on the treadmill, I did not notice that my sock had a rather unfortunate fold in it which left me an even more unfortunate blister on my heel. So I went on the search for what I should do to help heal it rapidly.

Here are some good suggestions I came across on caring for a blister, from the University of Michigan Health System:

Steps should be taken to avoid further irritating the problem area.
Large blisters can be carefully drained with a sterilized needle, then covered with antibiotic ointment and a bandage.
For extra protection, purchase a moleskin at a drugstore. Cut a hole that's larger than the blister in the moleskin, creating a moleskin "donut." Then apply the moleskin so that the hole is over the blister.
See your doctor about any blisters that don't heal in a reasonable amount of time, or look like they may be infected.

Source

More Easy Ways to Keep Kids Trim This Summer

FitSugar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:30:00 PDT

For some kids, summertime can provide a reason get out and get active, but for others it can mean more TV time, more access to snacks and time to be lazy. Don't let summertime lead to bulking up your kids, and yourself, by following these great tips from Amy Bohn, M.D., a family physician for the University of Michigan Health System:

Stock up on healthy snacks. What you have in your kitchen influences the food choices your children make, both now and later in life. Avoid buying high-fat, salty or sugary snacks like chips and cookies. Instead, try fruits and vegetables such as apples, bananas and carrots, which are fun to munch on and portable. Other good snacks include yogurt, peanut butter and celery, and whole-grain crackers and cheese. Sugary soda pop and fruit-flavored drinks are big contributors to obesity, so provide healthier options like bottled water or milk. "You can even involve your children in the grocery shopping," says Bohn. Allowing your children to choose healthy snacks that they enjoy increases the likelihood that they will eat those snacks instead of less healthy alternatives.
Make plans. Children are often left unsupervised in the summer, which makes it harder to motivate them to be active and eat properly. Bohn recommends making set plans and scheduling in some fun activities. "Talk to your children before the day, as far as things that you can plan together, and then talk to them at the end of the day when you get home, as far as what they've done that day. It takes time and planning, but if you have some structure, it really helps," she says.

There's more, so

Model good behavior. Children are more likely to make healthy choices when their parents set a good example. Show them that you enjoy eating healthy food, and they will be more willing to give it a chance. Encourage young children to bike alongside you as you jog, and invite older ones outside to play catch. Even small things, like walking to the corner store instead of driving, can encourage kids to get moving. The more active and healthy you are as a parent, the more active and healthy your child will want to be. "Parents being good role models can help foster good habits in their children, which really helps the problem of childhood obesity," says Bohn.
Keep it up! "The habits that we develop over the summertime will persist into the fall and winter months, particularly if there's continuity," says Bohn. "If parents help their children to establish these healthy routines, then they most likely will continue in the future." Making health a priority is easy in the summer, and if parents continue to make it a priority in the fall and winter, children will develop healthy habits for life.

For even more tips on keeping kids fit this summer, check out an earlier post on it.

Source

Easy Ways to Keep Kids Trim This Summer

FitSugar — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:00:00 PDT

For some kids, summertime can provide a reason to get out and get active, but for others it can mean more TV time, more access to snacks and more time to be lazy. Don't let summertime lead to bulking up your kids, and yourself, by following these great tips from Amy Bohn, M.D., a family physician for the University of Michigan Health System:

Limit "screen time." "There is a positive correlation between the amount of time that children spend in front of the TV, computer, or video games and obesity, so it's important to limit those types of activities to less than two hours a day," advises Bohn. By reducing time spent on sedentary activities, parents free up more time for their children to play outside and be active.
Make activities fun. Exercise shouldn't be a chore, especially for children. With warm weather outside, kids cans do a variety of activities that involve both fun and fitness. "Parents should involve children in playful activities, as opposed to just doing things like puzzles and games," says Bohn. She recommends jumping rope, swimming, skateboarding, and bike riding as alternatives to inside play. Team sports also are great ways to promote activity, so encourage your child to join a community team such as softball, soccer or dance. Summer is a great time to get in shape for fall tryouts at school, too.
Involve the whole family. Take turns choosing fun things to do as a group, such as going on a family bike ride, visiting a zoo, or even planting a garden. Kids are more likely to want to exercise and to enjoy if they are doing it alongside mom and dad. In addition, focusing on the family as a group helps prevent overweight children from feeling embarrassed or singled out. "As a parent, you don't want to be critical of your child because of the concerns we see with childhood obesity and lower self-esteem," says Bohn. "It's important to discuss it in the framework of the whole family being healthy and active."

Source

Is Your Health Getting in the Way of Love?

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:38:28 PST

This Valentine's Day (and beyond), don't let health excuses get in the way of love.

Dr. Patricia Rockwell is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and claims that there are many health barriers (most of which are myths, by the way) that can get in the way of sex and romance. Rockwell outlines the nine main issues potentially dampening your passion:

Prescription drugs. Heart drugs such as diuretics and ACE inhibitors, and SSRI antidepressants such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, can all interfere with erectile function.
Heart health. Myths aside, sex is not going to cause a heart attack, even in people with diagnosed heart disease.
Depression. Left untreated, depressed people can experience lack of pleasure, lack of desire and lack of ability to perform.
Alcohol. While a few drinks might make you a bit bolder, overdoing it can raise the risk of unsafe sex. Drinking also decreases sexual pleasure because alcohol lowers your sensations.
Sexually Transmitted Disease. With the correct precautions (especially condoms), contracting an STD -- such as HIV, hepatitis or the human papillomavirus (HPV) -- need not spell the end to romance.
Stress. Too many work and family commitments, and too little time, means sex often gets left by the wayside. Stress can also cause libido to decline and lead to unsatisfying sex lives.
Pregnancy. Another big myth. There is no barrier to sex during pregnancy.
Menopause. While hormone levels do drop after menopause, the use of topical estrogen creams and lubricants means older women can have sex lives as active as women half their age.
Poor body image. A dip in self-esteem can impair sexual desire and satisfaction, Rockwell said. But studies also show that healthy weight loss -- as little as 5 pounds -- can help turn that around.

Fit's Tip: Trust me, I know it's nice to have a fall back excuse (we all have them) for those times you're just not in the mood but keep in mind that a healthy relationship involves sex, so stop always making excuses and enjoy it once in a while.

The Five-Year Engagement: Hold Off on the RSVP

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:30:25 PDT

I was looking forward to The Five-Year Engagement like a dear friend's wedding, but as promising as the movie is, it's not as funny or romantic as I was hoping. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt play Tom and Violet, a happy couple who gets engaged, but over the course of planning their wedding, they get sidetracked, and end up putting off the big day. As their wedding plans fall apart, so does their relationship. This is where The Five-Year Engagement differs most notably from other romantic comedies; instead of seeing a romance develop, we're watching one decline - and it's as depressing to watch as it sounds.

It's a shame that we don't get to see the prologue of Tom and Violet's relationship, because Segel and Blunt have fantastic chemistry, and they have each have such solid comedic timing. It's well suited for the humor of the script, which was penned by Segel and director Nicholas Stoller. The duo also wrote Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets, two of my favorite comedies from the last few years, so my expectations were fairly high. Unfortunately, The Five-Year Engagement doesn't live up to those movies. The film's biggest laughs happen in the beginning of the movie, when the roadblocks to their wedding are far lighter than what the couple faces down the road. It's on that road that The Five-Year Engagement loses me - and its laughs. To find out what else I thought, just keep reading.

Ryan Gosling Picks Up and Heads to His Next Locale

Katie Henry — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:55:00 PDT

Ryan Gosling took his dog George for a walk earlier today on the University of Michigan campus. He joins George Clooney, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood in the political drama that will continue shooting for the next three days at the school's Arthur Miller Theatre. Ryan seems to be enjoying his time in the Midwest, where he has been making new friends and hanging with his rumored love interest Olivia Wilde. Ryan and Olivia have increasingly busy schedules ahead of them this year with Ryan releasing two additional films, Crazy, Stupid, Love and Drive, versus Olivia's four anticipated releases, Butter, Cowboys and Aliens, Now, and The Change-Up.

6 Common Sex and Dating Myths, Debunked

YourTango — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:00:47 PST

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango.

Every now and then, science does us a favor and sheds some much-needed light on the differences between men and women. Given the number of misconceptions there are about love, a group of psychologists took it upon themselves to review existing research and debunk six sex and gender myths most of us believe, although we shouldn't.

Girls want status, guys want boobs." Au contraire! According to University of Michigan psychologist Teri Conley, "when the object of one's potential affection shifted from ideal to actual, gender differences in preferred qualities of partners disappeared." So, in reality, both genders are equally shallow. Yay!
"Men want to sleep with more people than women do."  Sorry Wilt Chamberlain, but guys don't really want to follow in your footsteps. In fact, despite how much men may claim they want to be "studs," they really desire the same number of partners a woman does: one.
"Men think about sex constantly, while ladies think about weddings."  Well, men do think about sex more, but it's only because, scientists say, they're more attentive to their own needs than us. Women, on the other hand, are socialized to be more attentive to the needs of others, thus we think about our own desires less.

To read the rest of the myths, check out YourTango: 6 Common Sex And Dating Myths, Debunked

Written by Stephanie Castillo for YourTango.

Why Some Couples Are Buying a House, Then Tying the Knot

LearnVest — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:15:44 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Wedding. House. Kids. It’s progression that most people assume they’ll fall into at some point. But, increasingly, some couples are deciding to shake up the order of things to help their finances - and their relationships.

Pamela Smock, a professor at the Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan, notes: “Unmarried . . . cohabitation has increased sharply in recent years . . . The majority of marriages . . . now begin as cohabitating relationships.”

And increasingly, those couples are picking out real estate together. Last year, 8% of homebuyers were unmarried couples, according to the National Association of Realtors. This represents an uptick from 7% in each of the previous four years.

Here are some possible explanations:

Switching the order can space out the burden of wedding and home.

Paying for both a wedding and a big down payment on a house can be a lot for a couple to handle within only a few years. Buying the house first can both space out the process for young couples and also allow them to focus first on the house.

Read on to find out more.

What Booze Is Doing to Your Looks

Allure — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:20:51 PDT

We're excited to present this article from Allure!

As much as we delight in sharing positive beauty news about alcohol on Daily Beauty Reporter-Red wine protects your teeth from cavities! Boozers tend to exercise more!-it's obvious that excessive drinking takes a toll on your appearance.

After my interview with Brooke Shields in Allure's April issue, I was inspired by something that she said: "When I drink too much alcohol, go on a few hours of sleep, don't eat well, and don't sweat, I look five to ten years older."

See, lately, I have found myself skipping the gym, sleeping terribly, and pouring a second (or third) glass too often-and I'm wearing it. To kick off an overall lifestyle cleanse, I decided to take a 30-day break from alcohol. Helping me stay away from my Maker's Mark, are these negative effects of overindulging. See the rest when you keep reading.

Secrets to Beating Your Work Exhaustion

Emily Co — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:35:10 PDT

Although it's recommended to take a short walk to unwind from work, what you're surrounded by during your walk actually matters a lot. For example, if you're walking through a busy street filled with flashing lights and loud noises, the stroll won't really be an effective time-out.

University of Michigan researchers found that subjects who strolled through a nature setting saw a 20 percent improvement in attention and focus tests. However, participants who took a brief walk in a busy city did not see any cognitive benefits. Even spending time in a quiet room with a picture depicting nature was more effective than a city stroll. Here are more tips from The Wall Street Journal to rev up your mind during work:

Believe in your willpower. People who have a positive view about their willpower and believe they have an unlimited amount of it are able to work longer without a decrease in performance quality versus those who believe they have a limited amount, Stanford University researchers found. The WSJ says, "Both groups reported feeling tired. But researchers subtly suggested in questionnaires to some participants that they had stamina that could be replenished, and this group appeared to overcome the fatigue."
Don't drink more caffeine than necessary. If you intake more coffee than your usual amount, it might make you more stressed if you're already feeling some tension, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol. Stick to your regular cup of joe, and if you think the taste of coffee will calm you down, try opting for a decaf coffee instead.