Take the right steps to live longer, healthier
Walking offers healthy benefits for your heart
Betty White turned 96 this year and claims that her long-term good health is the result of hotdogs and vodka, not necessarily in that order! Well, some people’s genes are programmed to defy the odds (never worth betting on) — either that or Betty’s just a great comic who’s not afraid of a politically incorrect joke (that’s the smart bet)!
You may have a sense of humour, too, but although laughter is good for the heart, soul and brain, it’s essential to make healthful choices if you want to forge a reliably healthy, longer life and a younger Real Age. Smart nutrition is essential (no nitrate- and nitrite-packed processed meats like hotdogs). But to really live well longer, you have to stir in a healthy exercise routine.
Case in point: A new study from the University of Buffalo in New York has found that walking, the most common form of physical activity in older women (no surprise), is especially heart-loving. And, say the researchers, more is better: “Higher levels of recreational physical activity, including walking, are associated with significantly reduced heart failure risk ...”
So if your days of 5K runs are behind you, don’t fret. You (and this goes for guys, too!) can still get exercise’s hearthealthy benefits with 10,000 steps three or four times weekly — or aim for whatever you can do. Betty’s routine: “I have a two-storey house and a very bad memory, so I’m up and down those stairs.” In short, establish an exercise routine you can stick with, but do skip the well-marinated hotdogs!
STRENGTH TRAINING? WHAT TO EAT WHEN, TO LOSE WEIGHT
Last May, 27-year-old Icelander Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, renowned for his role as “The Mountain” Gregor Clegane, in “Game of Thrones,” won the World’s Strongest Man competition. At six feet, nine inches tall and weighing over 390 pounds, Bjornsson eats eight meals a day, while lifting tons of weights.
His meals consist of lean meats, grains, vegetables and healthy fats found in avocados and peanut butter. He’s said: “I eat quite healthy for a big guy ... but you get sick of eating all the time. Today, I was supposed to have chicken with sweet potatoes and greens. Because I didn’t want that, I had salmon. We have very good fish in Iceland.”
It’s true that high-protein foods are good to eat after resistance exercising to encourage muscle building. But did you know that eating protein after working out — if you eat the right amounts — also can help you lose weight?
That is effective because refuelling with protein after your musclestrengthening activities increases the amount of energy-burning muscle mass you build, and that uses up extra calories. Just make sure you don’t eat ever-more total calories as you exercise more!
To take advantage of the muscle building and weight loss:
• Eat protein up to two hours after working out to take advantage of the protein synthesis it fuels. — Enjoy protein from salmon, trout and skinless chicken.
• Eat 20-30 grams of protein (it’s the equivalent of four ounces cooked salmon or 3.5 ounces grilled chicken breast).
NEW GUIDELINES FOR KIDS AND CAR SEATS
Chris Evert and Andy Mills met at the top of a black diamond ski slope in Aspen, Colorado, over New Year’s 1986. There was just one problem. Although Ms. Evert was closing in on her 18th Grand Slam tennis singles victory, she wasn’t that great at skiing. Fortunately, Mr. Mills — America’s top downhill racer at the time — came to her rescue. He held her hands (or poles) and skied all the way down the hill backward, keeping her in front of him and safe. They were married a little over a year later and had three children.
Back then, infant car seats were just beginning to be required. In fact, 1986 was the first year that all 50 states made automobile child-restraint devices the law. However, it was a kind of one-seat-fits-all — forward facing — approach.
The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends parents with young children follow Andy’s lead. To improve safety, they recently declared all infants and toddlers should ride in rear-facing car seats for “as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed” by the seat’s manufacturer. Despite the fact that there’s been a 43 per cent decrease in kids’ traffic-related deaths from 2002-11, around 9,000 children a year die in crashes and most are not using the right (or any) restraints.
Once your youngster outgrows that position, convertible seats can be turned around so they’re forwardfacing with a harness, or you’ll need to buy a new, appropriate one. That’s essential for safety, or else it’s all downhill from there!
DICLOFENAC WARNING
Voltar was a Viking comic-book character in an award-winning comicbook series by the same name. It first appeared in 1963. He was the precursor of Conan the Barbarian, who, when brought to the silver screen in 1982, launched Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie career.
Voltaren, on the other hand, is a U.S. brand name for a strong-armed NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) called diclofenac that’s recently been called out by Danish researchers in a study published in the journal BMJ.
Seems that diclofenac users showed a 20 per cent greater rate of “atrial fibrillation, ischemic stroke, heart failure, heart attack or heart-related death in the 30 days following their prescription fill” than those who took acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and 30 a per cent higher rate of those health threats than naproxen users.
Diclofenac is available over-thecounter and by prescription in America, but as always, your best bet is to minimize your use of any antiinflammatory drugs. Stomach and intestinal bleeding are potential risks associated with all NSAIDs.
If you have chronic pain, try to reduce or eliminate it without medications.
• For acute tissue or bone pain, try R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation).
• Pre- or post-op, to reduce pain increasing stress, practice mindful meditation for 10 minutes twice daily.
• Go for physical therapy, which should include stretches and exercises, as well as heat for loosening up and ice for cooling down.
If you still need to take pain-relieving meds, ask your doc about seeing a pain management specialist to help you get through this safely and effectively.
BEWARE THE SOUPY MESS OF CHEMICALS IN PERSONAL-CARE PRODUCTS
Ludwig von Beethoven declared, “Only the pure of heart can make a good soup.” Da-da-da-daaaa! Unfortunately, many soups you’re exposed to (we’re not talking chicken noodle or split pea) are made from chemicals found in personal beauty and hygiene products.
Parabens, used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products, fragrances, pharmaceuticals and foods, are known to negatively affect male hormones and reproductive systems. Now there’s an indication that when they’re combined with repeated exposure to other chemicals in consumer products, they affect women’s reproductive health, too.
Researchers from George Mason University took 509 urine samples from 143 women ages 10 to 44. They found that the women’s urine contained parabens, benzophenones (filters that block ultraviolet light), chlorphenols (a biocide that suppresses immune system defences) and BPA (a hormone disruptor found in plastics and cash register receipts), and that various levels and combos were associated with damage to women’s ovarian function and increases and decreases in normal levels of reproductive hormones. Ask your senators to bring the Personal Care Products Safety Act (S.1113), introduced in May 2017 by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to the floor for a vote! It’s dead in the (swamp) water. Plus, read ingredient labels (the small type); dodge added nonessential-oil fragrances (parabens show up in them, but not on labels) and fragrance suppressors (same problem); refuse receipts or wash hands immediately after touching them and use certified personal/beauty products free of toxic chemicals (explore products verified by the Environmental Working Group).
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.