grow older better

Tag: exercise

  • 10,000 Steps! Good For Me?

    Today in honor of Earth ay [and a rare sunny DRY day,] I walked to my nearest library branch.

    According to my pedometer it was 10,325 steps [or 5 plus miles!]

    In less than 2 hours, I got there and back, got some new books, took some photos, sat for a rest in the library, and stopped to shake grit out of my shoes.

    Not a bad pace for an old lady! But then I love walking and do lots of it.

    Health providers, including mine, say that one should take 10,000 steps a day to remain in good health! Duh? That would mean that I should walk to and from the library EVERY day! Or do the equivalent of this round trip.

    Not gonna happen. Not on a regular basis. Besides does it add to my health to have breathed in whatever the cars and trucks speeding by were spewing out their exhausts? And what of the “stuff” kicked up by their tires that I not only had to remove from my shoes, but also got in my eyes, nose, throat – and assume is now in my lungs!

    I’m not sure who comes up with the “you musts” for health…but this is one I shall say no thank you to. I’ll stick with my shorter cleaner walks along the levee and along my street – and the next time I am inclined to walk to the library – I’ll go by bicycle!

  • Stress and Women

    If you are a woman, you are most likely not getting enough sleep – or enough exercise.

    Why?  Because, in spite of any changes in our cultures, women still have the most responsibilities.  And when pinched for time, women forgo sleep and exercise.  I know – because I do this too – for me it's the exercise….if I get busy, I don't go to the gym – knowing full well that any intention of "working out" at home – is really a feeble excuse to skip the work out entirely.

    From a National Sleep foundation Study we learn:

    "… that when pressed for time, one half of women responded that sleep (52 percent) and exercise (48 percent) were the first things sacrificed.

    But when women were tired or ran out of time, 39 percent also reduced the time they spent with friends and family, 37 percent stopped eating healthily and 33 percent stopped having sex with their partner. '

    Read the full article Stress and Women

    and return here to comment and discuss

    Thank you

  • Overweight women and exercise – will it make you fit?

    Short answer – NO!

    Exercise will not cut the risk of heart disease in those who are overweight unless they also slim down, according to a study of thousands of U.S. women….

    "Even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of coronary heart disease in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss," Dr. Amy Weinstein and colleagues at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reported.

    Read about the study: can you be fit and overweight?
    [This study,     begun in 1992,  was carried out over the years and followed the women and their health issues.]

    The major finding was that exercise is important, but so is being leaner.  This is why I write and talk about weight and obesity topics a lot – especially as we head into that time of year when many people put on a few pounds more and exercise a whole lot less.

    We have an ongoing obesity epidemic in the USA as well as in other parts of the world, and here it is not only is it hurting aging women, it is killing our children who are facing diabetes and other obesity related diseases at early ages.

    PLEASE – keep your resolution to manage your weight and to be more active…you owe it to yourself and your loved ones…

    Set a good example for your kids and grandkids…

     

    P.S. Take a peek at http://bit.ly/beinghealthy for products that are good for you and good for all the "kids" in your life as well.

  • What keeps you young?


    Aging is a universal process…we can slow it's effects on our body and brain but we can't stop the process.

    Every so often I see an article about what helps us stay functioning and healthy and what is bad for us.

    When I read of "bad" stuff in food and cosmetics I get more angry at federal agencies that "allow" a certain level of "bad" stuff in our food, air water and other things.  It's called an "acceptable" level….but what might be acceptable and safe for one person may be poison for another…

    So in the face of all this – what does keep one young?  How does one "do" healthy aging?

    Here is some of what keeps me young:

    cup of coffeeI can read that coffee is bad for me and then I read that coffee is good for me.  I don't allow either thought to change my coffee habits…I love my morning coffee and have for a very very long time and coffee makes me feel great and hence helps me stay young. 

    I love my pets and they also keep me young because I walk the dog a few times a daySheba the cat – which is good for him and me.  And my cat, Sheba,  is pure fun.  Having pets is part of who I am – if I ever had to live without a pet that would be very depressing and would therefore age me. 

    Friends and social interactions keep me young.  I dog walk with neighbors so that's a two-fer and we have a very friendly neighborhood where "everyone knows your name" and there are few secrets – but it's a situation we laugh about – and laughing keeps us young too.

    We know exercise is good for us and that it keeps our heart and body in better shape than does sitting around all day.  But do I get as much exercise as I need?   Probably not… it's too easy for me to skip exercise and that is something I most definitely am going to work on …… <later>

    Being online keeps me young too.  The daily interactions with persons from all over the world and of all different ages makes me use a lot of brain cells.  We chat about different topics, I am up to date on world events and my brain gets a serious work out.

    What keeps you young?

    Pleas post a comment below about this – thank you

  • Monosodium Glutamate. Is it bad for you?

    I can't tolerate MSG and avoid it when I can read a label. It makes me dizzy and nauseous. Sometimes after I eat some foods I feel the same way and after reading an email about MSG – I think I know better what is going on.  MSG or HVP [Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein / another name for MSG] is in a lot of food we eat at home or eat out – in both fast and slow food places and it is addictive!

    What does MSG do?  It makes food "taste better."  This from the http://www.msgfacts.com  website. 

    MSG has been touted as a health benefit  – especially for older people as it causes them to eat more; although I would never equate eating more with getting better nutrition.

    There have been studies showing that monosodium glutamate [MSG] is addictive and is related to obesity.  It is like nicotine in that it is a known additive that creates an addiction – but that no one wants to admit to.  It would mean taking on the food industry.  [The MSG fact website says it is not true that MSG is related to obesity.]

    www.truthinlabeling.org

    Then today when reading posts on Facebook I saw a post from http://facebook.com/jane.e.johnson  [thank you]  indicating that MSG is in flu vaccines and here is the site she mentioned  http://truthinlabeling.org.  This site offers a long list of research related to MSG and its effects.  

    Rather than argue whose research is correct – I shall continue to avoid all food with MSG or HVP especially when I know what it does to me and my body and I keep read material like this.

    Read the research and, as usual,  be the intelligent consumer I know you are.   Ask for the ingredient list and see if MSG or Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein is listed in any of the foods on your plate.