Bright idea for dropping weight: more sunshine
Roseanne Barr, Al Roker and Rosie O’Donnell are outspoken about their weight-loss surgery and its life-changing benefits. Roseanne was a pioneer in 1998 when she hit 350 pounds on her 5-foot-4 frame; Al lost 150 pounds, regained 40, and has lost some again. Rosie chose the surgery after a heart attack at 50 scared her into action.
Not for you? Well, if you’ve been struggling to achieve a healthy weight, you may want to give nine servings of fresh produce daily, 10,000 steps a day, and seven to eight hours of sleep nightly another try … but add this newly discovered, weight-loss step into the mix: Get more natural light during the day and a lot less artificial light at night (those glowing screens are following you).
A new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that exposure to more than three hours of artificial light at night resulted in a 10.2 percent gain in waist-to-height ratio and a 10 percent gain in BMI over 10 years! And that’s independent of calories eaten, physical activity or sleep patterns.
Also true: The longer a person was exposed to just 500 lux (a measure of luminosity) of natural sunlight and the longer nighttime light registered dim to dark, the greater the slimdown. FYI: Indirect sunlight on a clear day delivers 10,000 to 25,000 lux; below 3 lux it’s nicely dark; twilight is around 10. Clearly this is a bright idea that’ll make it easier for you to lighten up!
Yoga and aerobics for the heart
What do LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love have in common? If you said they’re championship-winning basketball players (one is retired), you’d be right.
But it turns out they share something else: They do yoga to improve their on-court performance. “Yoga helps me calm down and … center my energy so I’m balanced, instead of going out there and just spreading my energy all over the court,” Garnett said during his championship season in Boston. Kevin Love has made a series of yoga videos. He says that yoga gives him a competitive advantage in the NBA.
You can see his videos, along with LeBron’s, on YouTube.
The good news? It turns out you can gain that focus and more from yoga. New research presented at the American College of Cardiology Middle
East Conference this October in Dubai shows that practicing yoga, along with exercising, can dramatically reduce your heart disease risk factors. The study followed 750 people previously diagnosed with coronary heart disease: One group practiced yoga; one followed an aerobic exercise plan; and a third did both yoga and exercise. While all groups saw their bad cholesterol, blood pressure, weight and waist circumference decline, those who did yoga and exercise saw a two times greater reduction in those heart disease risk factors!
Whether you’re a pro, an amateur or a workout newbie, yoga can help improve your stamina, focus, heart health and athletic performance in basketball, softball, golf, squash … whatever. Sunrise salutation and 10,000 steps a day, here you come!
Question: I sprained my ankle and put an ice pack on it right away. Then my massage therapist said to put heat on it later so it wouldn’t get stiff. I thought that would just inflame it. Which is it, heat or ice, that helps a sprain heal? — Lester B., Garden City, New York
Answer: Cold and heat are both helpful, when used at the right time and correctly. We’ve talked about R.I.C.E. therapy before; it stands for “Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.” That’s usually your first line of defense following an injury like an ankle sprain. But after your body’s initial inflammatory response to the injury, you can use what is called “contrast therapy.” That’s a pattern of applying hot and cold — usually 10 minutes of cold followed by 10 minutes of heat, then take a break for 30 minutes, at least. The combination allows you to get the anti-inflammatory benefits of cold and the muscle-relaxing, bloodflowing boost from heat. Contrast therapy also may be recommended by your doctor or surgeon when dealing with a more serious injury or surgery.
What does cold do?
Cold is a vasoconstrictor, which means it restricts blood flow and can have a numbing effect on the nerves. Ahhh! Using cryotherapy (either with an ice pack, a bag of cubes or immersing your affected area in an icy bath) also reduces inflammation and can help you avoid the need for pain medications. When used by itself (no heat), apply cold for no more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time; longer may, ironically, trigger an inflammatory response as your body tries to warm up the area.
And heat? Heat is a vasodilator, which means that it dilates blood vessels. That allows nutrient-rich blood to flow around a joint or damaged muscle and “loosen up” the injured tissue. Use it after the swelling has gone down.
Ice and heat is a great combo for easing a strained ankle or soothing sore joints and tissue. People have been jumping from steam baths and saunas into cold lakes and rivers for thousands of years. You’re just updating the practice.
Bonus: Compression — with an elastic bandage, for example, is helpful in reducing swelling and can be used in conjunction with ice.
Q: With all the gun violence we see today, can’t something be done to reduce it in the name of public health while preserving Second Amendment rights? — Alva D., Lexington, Kentucky
A: There is a great deal that can be done
(like keeping your guns and ammunition under lock and key), but even though almost every gun owner in the U.S. supports tighter gun laws, there is a reluctance among muchlobbied legislators to do much, even after Las Vegas. Did you know you can still buy a gun if you’re on the fed’s terrorist watch list? Ridiculous.
And according to a new study, as many as 3 million Americans are walking around every day with loaded handguns (80 percent have a concealedcarry permit). Scary! So, what to do?
One regulation that seems to be very effective in reducing gun violence, and shouldn’t bother anyone, is to institute waiting periods in every state. So far, they’re mandated in 43 states.
When they’re not, well … a recent study revealed that gun-related deaths and injuries in neighboring California spiked by 70 percent in the two weeks following gun shows in Nevada. When California (with strict gun laws) held gun shows, there was no spike afterward. And researchers at Harvard Business School found that waiting periods of just a couple of days were associated with a 17 percent decrease in gun homicides.
Right now, more than 33,000 Americans are killed every year by guns. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, having waiting periods for gun purchases saves about 1,700 lives every year.
Just think how many lives strict background checks and tighter automatic weapon, magazine and ammunition regulations could save without impinging on anyone’s rights.