Archive for healthy lifestyle
Here’s another blog on exercise, my favorite topic as a Camarillo Chiropractor other than talking about the benefits of chiropractic treatment. And, if you’ve read my other blogs on exercise, you know I’m a big believe in “move it or lose it.” But, if you’ve read the entire content of most of my blogs, you also know that I believe that exercise is just part of a healthy lifestyle. An essential part, to be sure, but eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water, and visiting your chiropractor (that last one may be slightly biased), along with giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, are crucial not only for maintaining good health, but in keeping body weight in check. That’s why I wasn’t surprised by the latest government data that indicated that more Americans are exercising, but rates of obesity and smoking have not changed.
Health experts, such as chiropractors, and the U.S. government all recommend getting daily exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults — to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Plus, we chiropractors are well aware that keeping weight off not only helps to prevent the diseases just mentioned, but it also helps to slow down, and often prevent, arthritis and stress injuries of the musculoskeletal system caused by excess weight.
But, excess weight is not only caused by, and sustained through, lack of exercise. Here are some more “fun facts” from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics:
- The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2009.
- In 2009, 9 percent of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 1997.
- 20.6 percent of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
- Nearly 23 percent of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
- Most Americans believe they are healthy. More than 66 percent said they had excellent or very good health, down from 68.5 percent in 2008. 2.4 percent said they had poor health.
- Just over 4 percent of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year
There are no shortcuts and no way to get around it: Good health and vibrant wellness is created and maintained through an overall healthy lifestyle.
457 Carmen Dr. Camarillo, CA, 93010 USA
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First of all, if you are someone who reads my Camarillo chiropractic blogs, you know that as your Camarillo Chiropractor I am a passionate advocate of living a healthy lifestyle that, as I’ve written so many times, includes a healthy diet, good hydration, plenty of exercise and, of course, regular chiropractic care! In addition, I’m sure that if you are someone who is already concerned about your health, you don’t get your diet and nutrition guidelines from watching television. We all know that most TV advertisements that are about food, especially “convenience” food, are meant to sell, sell, sell, whether or not the product is actually good for you. That said, it always nice to take a moment to reflect on just how “unhealthy” TV ads can be. So, I read with great interest an article today in the New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section on the subject. The article detailed a study that concluded that if Americans ate only foods advertised on TV, they would consume 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the amount of fat they need, but less than half the dairy, fiber, and fruits and vegetables.Yikes! Those statistics even shocked me!
Taping 28 days of prime-time TV (as well as Saturday-morning programming) on the four major broadcast networks, researchers identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads. Then, using a nutritional software program, they analyzed the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients (based on a 2,000 calories per day diet).
Are you ready for this? Not only would a 2,000-calorie diet made up solely of foods from commercials provide too much cholesterol, saturated fat and salt, and not nearly enough nutrients like iron, calcium or vitamins A, D and E, just one advertised food item by itself would provide, on average, three times a person’s daily recommended servings of sugar and two and half times the daily recommended servings of fat.
The study will be published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
A Good Diet May Taste Better Than You Think
Posted by: | CommentsAs a chiropractor I believe that a healthy lifestyle not only includes getting chiropractic treatment for acute injury, chronic conditions, and all-around health maintenance, but also includes a nutritious diet, lots of water, and plenty of routine exercise. Up until now, I would not have added ice cream, chocolate, cheese, beef, and pizza to the “pro” side of my healthy lifestyle list! But, according to a new study, all five have surprising health benefits. Too good to be true? Maybe, but let the following article provided online by Prevention help you decide.
1) Ice Cream
As long as you choose the right ice cream, you’ll get a very impressive dose of calcium for your bones and your blood pressure. Look for a variety with 15% of the Daily Value (DV) for calcium in every 1/2-cup serving-about the size of a tennis ball. Stick to this amount if you’re eating calorie- and fat-loaded premium ice cream (one with 250 calories or more per 1/2 cup). But if you’re eating regular or low-fat brands, 1 cup is a more realistic serving size. If you can’t keep a half-gallon on hand, go to an ice cream shop and buy just one scoop.
2) Chocolate
Chocolate, especially the dark or bittersweet kind, is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that protect your heart by preventing blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots that could cause a heart attack. But even milk chocolate is good: A typical 1.5-ounce bar packs as much antioxidant power as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. If you crave a daily dose of chocolate, stick to about 100 calories’ worth. That’s about four Hershey’s Kisses or two individually wrapped mini or fun-size bars such as Nestle plain chocolate or crunch. Or dilute your chocolate with other flavors: Mini peppermint patties are only 35 calories each, so have three!
3) Cheese
The exciting news about cheese–except the fat-free kind–is that it contains a special kind of fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, that scientists are investigating as a new weapon against breast cancer. And all that concentrated calcium–300 mg, as much as a glass of milk, in just 1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar–is a boon for bone health. Finally, there’s your smile: Eating hard cheese at the end of a meal can protect your pearly whites from tooth decay. But keep in mind that cheese contains cholesterol-raising saturated fat–1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar packs 9 grams. For most women, that’s more than half of the saturated fat that you should have in a day, so stick to 1 1/2 ounces, max.
4) Beef
Beef is one of the richest and best-absorbed sources of zinc, a key mineral in your immune system’s fight against many enemies, from viruses to cancer. Getting enough zinc is also critical for appetite, taste, and night vision, yet only half of adults over age 50 come close to the DV of 15 mg. Still, plate-size portions of fatty meats such as hamburger and prime rib are loaded with saturated fat, which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk. A restaurant-size 14-ounce sirloin steak has 27 g of saturated fat–nearly twice the saturated fat that women should have in a day, so stick to a 3-ounce portion, which is about the size of a computer mouse or a bath-size bar of soap.
5) Pizza
Pizza recently got rave scientific reviews for fending off prostate cancer. Pizza sauce delivers tons of lycopene, a carotenoid found at high levels in the blood and prostate of men with lower rates of prostate cancer. And the cheese provides calcium, which helps build bone, lower blood pressure, and inhibit colon cancer. Choose two slices of thin-crust veggie pizza, which weighs in at just 300 calories (add a side salad for a 400-calorie meal) and 2.5 g of saturated fat
It's Not Too Late to Reduce Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Posted by: | CommentsDoesn’t it seem that healthy lifestyle information is everywhere you look these days? There are magazines and TV shows all about healthy foods and beneficial exercises. There are even recipes for nutritious meals in the newspaper. But, even though more Americans today are aware that eating nutritious meals, getting exercise, and keeping their body weight down is essential for health and longevity, a new study reported in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine has found that the number of middle-aged and older Americans who have adopted a healthy lifestyle has actually declined substantially in the past two decades. Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in 2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That’s down 16 percent from the 42 percent who responded in the 1988 survey! When it came to exercise, the same kind of decline was reported. Only 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per month, versus 53 percent in 1988. Not surprisingly, the rate of obesity in the United States went in the opposite direction, from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006.
The findings were based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted government health survey. Researchers focused on surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994 and between 2001 and 2006, which together included more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 40 and 74. They looked at rates of five lifestyle factors involved in preventing a range of health risks: maintaining a normal weight, getting regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables, not smoking, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.
Though the study cannot tell us why healthy lifestyle habits are on the decline, lead researcher, Dr. Dana E. King, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said that one reason may be that these changes are just difficult to make. “People’s increasingly hectic lives may be making it hard to fit in regular exercise, or to sit down to healthier, home-cooked meals rather than eating take-out.” He suggested some simple steps can make a difference. “It’s not hard, for example, to take some fruit to work with you, instead of going to the vending machine.” (Parking a little farther away from your destination and walking a bit can help, too.) Most importantly, Dr. King stressed that “it’s never too late” for middle-aged and older adults to make lifestyle changes for the better. In fact, in an earlier study, King and his colleagues found that when middle-aged adults newly adopted a healthier lifestyle — including regular exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables — their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or dying over the next several years fell by as much as 40 percent.
If you think about it, there aren’t many things in life that carry an “it’s never too late” guarantee. So, why not start today, no matter what your age may be? Your healthy future is depending on you!
