grow older better

Tag: health

  • Watch TV; Shorten Your Life?

     I write about the benefits of exercise and have a blog about being healthy – and here is a study that may just be part of the formula as to why we have an obesity epidemic and don't get enough exercise.

    The amount of TV viewed in Australia in 2008 was associated with reduced life expectancy by 1.8 years for men and 1.5 years for women. The authors suggest that every hour of TV viewed after the age of 25 reduces the viewer's life expectancy.

    The following study concluded that:

    Viewing time may be associated with a loss of life that is comparable to other major chronic disease risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity.

    Read more about TV and life expectancy.

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

  • Shoes for Your Walking

    5fingers and nasturtiums

    Vibram fivefingers with nasturtiums►

     

    I love my fivefingers!

    A shoe that I don't kick off the minute I am inside.

    I almost never  rave about shoes but I love them so much I even wrote a review for REI [where I bought them.]

    Shoe shopping and I have a love/hate relationship. I know we need shoes but the process of my getting them is no fun so I do it as infrequently as is possible.

    My feet are not structured like the manufacturers think all women's feet should be made and I've learned to buy men's shoes –  but that tends to work only for sandals and running shoes. When I need to get "dressed up" I am stuck with uncomfortable shoes.

    Anyway – these are comfy and not too many people think they are odd. But remember  I  live in Portland where one motto is: Keep Portland Weird.

    If you don't go barefoot a lot of the time, these may take some getting used to. But if you do yoga and have learned to separate your toes [like you did as a kid] then these will not feel odd.

    They are much the same a walking barefoot and you feel the gravel and rocks underfoot – but they don't puncture the shoe or your foot. I wear them walking and running and found when running, I needed to adjust what I was doing ever so slightly. 

    Vibram keeps coming out with new styles and so for next winter I shall get a pair that are a bit more water resistance and also some finger socks!

    **********

    And for those who like shoes without flowers, here is another picture:)

    fivefingers

    Go ahead and try a pair, it's like being a kid all over again!!

    Age in style!

    Comments?  Questions?

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • Pre New Year

    This week I got back into doing more exercising. Admittedly, I am one who takes exercise out of my schedule when I get busy knowing that is BAD for me! It’s usually bad for everyone – but most of us stop exercising when we have other things to do.

    I started feeling more tired even tho I get sufficient sleep – so I felt too tired to get to the club and then of course the cycle continued. I was getting there for a cycling class but doing “serious” exercise only twice a week is not the best for me and it led to the tired feeling…..

    So today I added yoga back into my schedule. In the summer I do yoga at home to the tapes I have – but as soon as it gets cold – which it did on September, my floor is too cold to stand on with bare feet – and so out went the yoga.

    What finally got me back was the realization that we are entering celebratory season – and I love parties. So figured I’d beat the New Year Resolution crowd and be in great shape before January 1…besides I have a birthday coming up in January and I’d really prefer being in a whole lot better shape, and a few pounds lighter, than last year…which was not that bad a shape – but we can always improve on our health and I started on improving mine today..

    And I really want to get back to playing squash before my D.C. friend comes in late December – so I don’t look like such a dork on the squash court when we play!

    glyconutrients, healthy aging, growing older, aging, nutrition, exercise, eating properly,