Health Tips

 

Avoid Zicam Nasal Sprays and Swabs This Cold Season

The FDA recently issued a warning due to more than 130 complaints that these popular zinc-based cold treatments lead to loss of smell. Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size have all been discontinued but consumers may still have them in their homes. All of these products have been associated with long lasting or permanent loss of smell (referred to as anosmia). The FDA recommends that consumers stop using these products and throw them away. See the FDA website for more information and directions on how to dispose of unused medicines. | More

 

 

Are Your Sleep Habits Affecting Your Weight?

Need or want help achieving and maintaining a healthy weight? Aim for eight hours of sleep a night. Research suggests that appetite-regulating hormones are affected by sleep and that sleep deprivation could lead to weight gain. In two studies, people who slept five hours or less per night had higher levels of ghrelin - a hormone that stimulates hunger - and lower levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin than those who slept eight hours per night. So make sure getting adequate sleep is near the top of your optimum health checklist!

 

 

Protect Yourself from the Sun

Sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for all skin cancers, including melanoma. Here are some guidelines for having fun in the sun and decreasing your risk of skin cancer.

• Generously apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15 to all exposed skin if you will be outside for more than 20 minutes. The term broad-spectrum means that the sunscreen provides protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Sunscreen should be applied 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors and reapplied every two hours — even on cloudy days — and after swimming or sweating. Don't skimp: One ounce - enough to fill a shot glass- is considered the amount needed to properly cover exposed skin.
• Wear protective clothing, such as a long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses, where possible.
• Seek shade when appropriate. Remember that the sun's rays are strongest and most harmful between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m during Daylight Savings Time (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during Standard Time). If your shadow appears to be shorter than you are, seek shade.
• Protect children from sun exposure. Be sure to play in the shade, use protective clothing, and apply sunscreen.
• Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand because they reflect and intensify the damaging rays of the sun, which can increase your chances of sunburn.
• Get vitamin D safely through a healthy diet that may include vitamin supplements. Don't seek the sun.
• Avoid tanning beds. Ultraviolet light from the sun and tanning beds can cause skin cancer and wrinkling. If you want to look like you've been in the sun, consider using a sunless self-tanning product, but continue to use sunscreen with it.
• Check your birthday suit on your birthday. If you notice anything changing, growing, or bleeding on your skin, see a dermatologist. Skin cancer is very treatable when caught early.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology

Check out www.ewg.org for a listing of the safest sunscreens.

 

 

Healthy Around the House

The chemicals used in detergents, furniture polishes, floor waxes, window sprays, dish soaps, and tub and tile cleaners add up to a Who’s Who of health hazards. Labels ominously marked WARNING or POISON suggest the immediate risks, should someone take a deep whiff or swig. But labels won’t give you the full picture of the known respiratory irritants, carcinogens, hormone disrupters, and neurotoxins associated with chronic and long-term effects because these ingredients are part of secret formulas that manufacturers aren’t required to divulge. (No wonder studies show that use of conventional household cleaning products is associated with chronic wheezing and asthma in children!). Cleaning with nontoxic ingredients is one of the most important things you can do for your family’s health, and is one of the easiest!

Looking for a cost-effective, safe way to keep your home clean, naturally? Try these four common household items:

1. Olive oil: Use to lubricate and polish wood furniture (three parts olive oil to one part vinegar; or two parts olive oil to one part lemon juice).
2. Potatoes: Halved potatoes can remove rust from baking pans or tinware - follow with a salt scrub or dip the potato in salt before scrubbing.
3. White vinegar: Cleans linoleum floors and glass (from windows to shower doors) when mixed with water and a little liquid soap (Castile or vegetable). It cuts grease and removes stains, and removes soap scum and cleans toilets (add a bit of baking soda if you like). Pour down drains once a week for antibacterial cleaning. Add to water in a spray bottle to kill mold and mildew.
4. Tea tree oil: Can be added to vinegar/water solutions for its antibacterial properties. Use it to kill mold and mildew, and on kitchen and bathroom surfaces instead of chemical products. Add 50 drops to a bucket of water to clean countertops and tile floors.

 

 

How to Avoid Getting a Cold

Make sure you get enough sleep. That’s what Carnegie Mellon University investigators found by comparing susceptibility to cold viruses with hours of sleep. The researchers recruited 153 healthy men and women (average age 37) and interviewed them daily for two weeks, asking how many hours they slept and how much time in bed was spent sleeping. Then, the participants were quarantined and given nose drops containing a cold virus. For the next five days, the participants reported any signs of illness and provided mucus samples. Later, samples of their blood were tested for antibodies to the cold virus. Results showed that the less an individual slept, the more likely he or she was to get a cold. Those who slept less than 92 percent of the time they were in bed were 5.5 times more likely to get a cold than those who reported sleeping 98 percent of the time they were in bed. The research team suggested that not getting enough sleep affects the response of immune system mediators to infection. The study was published in the Jan. 12, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

 

 

6 tips to achieving your healthy weight

1. Eat Breakfast
   Research shows that non-breakfast eaters on average are 10-15 lbs. heavier. So if you’re not hungry for breakfast it just means that your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is slower than it should be. Eating is the solution! And don’t worry, if you feel hungrier on days when you eat breakfast it’s because your metabolism is elevated – this is a good thing!
2. Average no more than 5 hours between meals
   If you average waiting more than 5 hours between meals, your body will begin to burn lean tissue.
3. Eat two-thirds of your daily calories by 3-4pm
   From early in the morning (~7am) through 3-4pm, the body is most metabolically active, independent of your sleep/wake schedule.
4. Calorie intake should be at least at the level of your resting energy expenditure
   1. To calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): Weight x 10
      Example: 140 lbs. x 10 = 1400 calories
   2. To calculate # of calories needed to maintain weight: BMR + ½ BMR (males) or 1/3 BMR (for females)
      Example: 1400 + 700 (males) = 2100 calories
   3. To lose weight add exercise calories and reduce total intake by no more than 500 calories. If you reduce caloric intake by more than 500 calories tend to get tired and hungry.
      Example: 2100 + 500 (exercise calories from about 1 hour exercise) = 2600 – 500 (amount of calories you can reduce) = 2100 calories.
5. Intake the proper amount of protein
   The body requires .6 - .9 grams per pound of body weight.
6. Exercise
   Exercising regularly helps to maintain both your mental and physical health.

Following the above recommendations can have the following results:

1. Improved energy levels & performance (often the 1st & only thing observed during 1st month of eating/exercising at healthy levels)
2. Stabilized BMR and overall metabolic profile at healthy levels
3. Reduced body fat
4. Increased lean body mass
5. Weight loss – fat weight

 

Reference: Carolyn Hodges, MS, RD - CEO of Sol Stone: An Eating Disorder Treatment Center in Elmira, NY www.solstonecenter.com

 

 

4 Holiday Eating Tips

 

 

The Best Time to Stretch!

Stretching, done alone or in combination with other activities, should always be preceded by a 5-10 minute general body warm-up of low intensity cardiovascular activity (walking, biking, elliptical trainer, etc).

Pre-workout stretching should be of low intensity, with stretches held for no longer than 15-30 seconds. Some research suggests that pre-exercise stretch be reserved for tight musculature only. Pre-workout stretch is believed to decrease tissue stiffness, but its practice is controversial and research supporting injury reduction is lacking. If done, a pre-workout stretch should be preceded and followed by a 5-10 minute general body warm-up.

Post-workout is typically the best time to stretch because static stretching results in potential muscle and tendon weakness lasting anywhere from 15 min to 1 hour post-stretch. The ideal (most effective) time to stretch is immediately following a cardiovascular workout since the resultant increased body temperature offers less tissue resistance, making permanent elongation of the muscle-tendon unit more likely. It may also enhance muscle relaxation, return to normal resting length, circulation, and removal of waste products.

In summary:

Source: ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 7th edition, 2006 & ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal, September/October 2002.

 

 

Beware of New Trans Fat Substitute!

Now that we've finally learned to avoid foods with trans fat (hydrogenated fats) a new substitute has been created that's just as bad for you!

Even if the food claims to be free of trans fat you need to look for interesterified oil. Like trans fat, interesterified oil reduces healthy HDL cholesterol and raises blood sugar.

Avoid this ingredient, and better yet reduce your consumption of processed foods as much as possible!

Source: IDEA Fitness Journal May 2008

 

 

Exercise Equals Brain Power

School is back in session! Time to get your brain back into high gear. If all of our fun programs haven't enticed you yet, here’s another reason to visit Campus Recreation – Exercise may actually help improve your brain power! Researchers at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California have found that exercise may play an important role in stimulating the development of new cells in the learning centers of the brain. Visit us...everyday! Do something healthy for your body and get smarter at the same time!

Source: Nature Neuroscience 1999; 2: 203-205, 260-270.