What’s the Secret to Health?

Apparently one simple thing…

P.S. I’d add the caveat that this applies when we look at people as a group. What an individual needs is often very different. Most people are interested in increasing their personal health, not the group’s health statistics. That said, it’s pretty amazing what a little exercise can do!

 

Why We Get Fat

There was a great interview on CBC’S The Sunday Edition this morning with author Gary Taubes discussing his book Why We Get Fat. You can here the entire interview here (click on the “Hour Two” audio).

As is often the case, conventional wisdom is not particularly wise, especially when it come to nutrition. And despite the many voices out there dispelling the myth and the numerous examples to the contrary, most people are convinced that it doesn’t really matter what you eat as long as you do it in moderation – ultimately it’s the calories consumed that matter most.

Nope. Check out the interview.

Turn off the TV to help Kids Slim Down

Here’s an article in The Vancouver Sun about Stephen Kline’s new book, Globesity. In it he argues that we need to worry less about fast food and advertising to kids and more about turning off the TV in our home so that kids get outside and stay active.

As the parent of a 4 year old this rings true for me. I find that even if she only watches 30 minutes of TV a day, it seems to train her mind that ‘fun’ equals TV, rather than being active. It makes her a passive participant in fun, rather an active one. This is exacerbated by those of us in urban contexts where it’s more difficult for kids to just run around outside.

But this is also true for a lot of us adults as well. Fun and relaxation is increasingly becoming consuming entertainment rather than actively engaging in physical activity. In many cases, excessive TV viewing is much like an addiction to a stimulant. Let’s have the courage to delete that PVR’d show and go outside and move our bodies.

Coffee Linked to Conception Difficulties

Here’s an intriguing article from The Vancouver Sun on the possible side effects of caffeine on the passage of eggs through the Fallopian tubes. It looks like yet another reason to avoid caffeine…

Tendon Problems and Antibiotics Linked

Ongoing Tendon problems? Perhaps it’s not biomechanical?

In 2008 the US Food and Drug Administration made a link between flouroquinolone antimicrobial drugs and an increased risk of tendonitis and tendon rupture.

Flouroquinolone antibiotics include:

Cipro
Ciprofloxacin
Cipro XR
Proquin XR
Factive (gemifloxacin)
Levaquin (levofloxacin)
Avelox (moxifloxacin)
Noroxin (norfloxacin)
Floxin
Oflozacin

Read a summary article here.

Fish Oil and Breast Cancer

Here’s another study indicating the benefits of fish oil: women between the ages of 50 – 76, reduced their risk of developing breast cancer by 32% by supplementing with fish oil.

Big Pharma and the Liberals

A very disappointing move from the Provincial Liberals: http://www.timescolonist.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=3886922

Got Alpha-Carotine?

New research into orange and dark green vegetables suggests a link between alpha-carotene and living longer. The researchers at the CDC found that the more alpha-carotene participants had in their blood at the start of their 14-year study, the lower their risks of disease and death.

Read more:

Older Women & Exercise – Vancouver Sun

“Older women with thinning bones who exercise regularly have sustained improvements in their balance and walking speed that may protect them from fractures and even extend their lives, new research shows.”

Read more here.

Exercise 60 Minutes a Day

The LA Times published this article summarizing recent research on women and weight gain. The research indicates that women who don’t want to gain weight over time and who don’t want to diet should exercise 60 minutes a day at moderate intensity.

Genetically women’s bodies are designed to increase body fat stores as the body ages. So women are constantly battling their DNA if they want to remain thin. If you aren’t willing to be super intentional about nutrition, regular exercise is the only way to control weight.  And despite what late night infomercials tell you, 15 minutes a day won’t do it.

When I start with someone who wants to lose significant amounts of weight but hasn’t been living a healthy lifestyle of exercise and intentional nutrition, I tell them that it’s like a conversion: you really need to begin to see your life differently; you’ll need to slowly change the way you manage and spend your time; you’ll need to see an hour spent exercising as not a “waste” but a valuable use of your time; and you’ll need to start making more direct connections between your body and what you put in it, recognizing that food is not neutral.

This kind of conversion is a slow process, but a worthwhile one in my opinion.

Time is often the biggest challenge for people. I think something can be learned from my wife’s philosophy: when she goes to do 1.5 hours of hot yoga, she often says that besides improving her health and posture it’s “giving her an extra day with her grandkids.”

That’s not a bad trade.