Healthy Reading Every Month

February 24, 2009 at 6:59 pm (General)
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In our efforts to cut back our daily expenses, maybe we’ve let magazine subscriptions lapse.  Consumer Reports on Health, Diabetes Forecast, Mayo Clinic Health Letter, Nutrition Action Healthletter, Weight Watchers, Yoga Journal, and many others keep us informed, even entertained as we strive to achieve the best health for ourselves and our families.  But at $40. or more a year each for 4 or 5 favorite reads, the savings from dropping or not renewing a subscription can be serious money and the difference between a balanced budget and disaster.  But is that kind of economizing short sighted?  Do we run the risk of not keeping current with health and wellness matters by dropping our paper subscriptions?   Without these subscriptions are we doing enough to stay informed?

One alternative is to look online and fortunately, many health oriented publications have an online presence, including Mayo Clinic Health Letter , Yoga Journal, Prevention, Women’s Health,  and Living Without .  For many readers though, online reading isn’t convenient or possible and that’s where your local library can help out.  The Downtown Lansing Library of the Capital Area District Library system subscribes to hundreds of magazines including over 25 dedicated to health issues, and, all but the current issue can be checked out for 3 weeks.  You can search the library catalog to see if your favorite title is held and then stop by the library to check (literally) them out.  Saving money is something we all must do at some point and taking advantage of the library’s “shared resources” philosophy enables us to do so without feeling deprived.

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Stair Climbing?

February 19, 2009 at 4:46 pm (General)
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I don’t know about you but I think the New York Times newspaper is one of the world’s great treasures.  Presented in about 20 different sections, it really has something for everyone and plenty to agree or disagree with.  Crosswords, cooking, political commentary, book reviews; the list just goes on and on.  Locally, the Downtown Lansing Library of the Capital Area District Library subscribes to the print version and stores 3 months of back issues for patron usage. 

But, you’re wondering, what does all of this have to do with the subject of this post – Stair Climbing?  Well, in addition to the printed paper, they also have an excellent online presence which allows you to read the paper online or subscribe to RSS feeds of the sections you’re most interested in.  (here’s where the Stair Climbing connection comes in)   For the past few months I have been subscribed to the RSS feed for their Fitness & Nutrition information.  An article in yesterday’s paper and feed caught my attention by discussing the ups & downs (I couldn’t resist) of stair climbing as a fitness and exercise tool.  Since I work in a 3 story building and made a resolution to get more exercise by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, I wondered, if in fact, I was doing myself any good.  Turns out, stair climbing is a legitimate means of burning calories.  According to one expert, 

“Stair climbing will give you a little more bang for your buck because of the vertical component,” said Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Compared to jogging or cycling at a moderate pace without much of an incline, stair climbing, Dr. Bryant said, “will be a bit more challenging and therefore allow you to burn more calories for that same amount of time.”  

“The impact on knees and feet is relatively low, with the pressure equivalent to two times one’s body weight walking up stairs (compared with three to four times when running), Dr. Bryant said. The pounding on the body going downstairs, however, equals six or seven times one’s body weight, he cautioned.”

So all those stairs that have gone largely unused over the years really can play a role in your exercise plan.  And for anyone interested in taking stair climbing to an extreme, there are tower running events  “…many of which benefit charities, (which) are held in world skyscrapers, from Taipei, Taiwan, to Milan, that open stairwells just for the occasion. This weekend, races will be held in Chicago (“Hustle up the Hancock”) and Las Vegas (“Scale the Strat”), Denver, Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Mich., Omaha and Philadelphia.”

Remember the line from the old Superman TV show intro,  ”…able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”?   I wonder if he started out with stair climbing and it just got a little out of hand.

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Just What the Doctor Ordered

February 15, 2009 at 4:05 pm (1)
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Companion to the rising cost of health insurance is the cost of getting prescriptions filled.  Even for people with health insurance, these costs can still be prohibitive and individuals and families often are faced with the difficult choice of paying for prescribed medicine or buying other necessities. 

Fortunately, here in Michigan there are some programs that may help pay these costs.  Under the health category    in the local links resources listing maintained by the Capital Area District Library, several programs are identified.  They include:  Elder Prescription Insurance Coverage,  HIV/AIDS Drug Assistance Program,  MiChild, NeedyMeds.org,  Partnership for Prescription Assistance, and Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program. 

In addition, there are many disease specific assistance programs.  NeedyMeds.org provides a list of over 240 such programs.  The disease-based assistance list can be accessed through the name of disease or condition, the area of service (state or nationwide) or name of the program.  Well-known and obscure conditions are included. 

Don’t jeopardize you or your family’s health by not filling your prescriptions.  Help may be available by checking into one of the programs listed above.

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February is American Heart Month

February 9, 2009 at 10:13 am (General)
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February is American Heart Month and what better time to see how you and your lifestyle measure up.  We all know that heart disease is rampant.  It is the #1 killer of women and men in the U.S.  Fortunately, there are many resources available for us to access to improve our chances of preventing or treating heart conditions.  The risk factors include: sedentary life styles, stress, anxiety, high fat diet, smoking, being overweight, high cholesterol levels. 

Organizations like the American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  Cleveland Clinic and Vascular Institute, and WebMd.com among others, provide incredible resources to help you assess and address all of these factors. 

 

Visit any one of these sites to get more information, and  pay attention to your health; you’re too important not to!
Disclaimer: The above material is intended for informational purposes only.  It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and advice. 

 

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Why Don’t We Do It In Our Sleeves?

February 3, 2009 at 6:08 pm (General)
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Sneezing is what the title of this post refers to and here is a link to an entertaining  YouTube video, Why Don’t We Do It In Our Sleeves that explains what I mean.  Most people think that covering a sneeze (or cough for that matter) with one’s hand is conscientious, courteous and a sound technique for preventing the spread of germs.  But, as the little video demonstrates, it is far from the best or even preferred method.  Think about it for a minute, you sneeze into your hand and then use that same hand to turn a door knob, pick up the phone, greet a friend with a handshake,  hmmm – well, you get the idea.   What do you think?

Producer OtoRhinoLounsburgology Productions explains:
This five minute video was designed to encourage people to cough and sneeze according to the infection control guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is aimed at the common citizen. Its message is serious, but it is presented with humor in such a way that it engages the viewer’s attention for a full five minutes while the message is repeated in interesting new ways. It can be enjoyed by individuals, but it is even more fun to watch in groups, resulting in community reinforcement. It has been used in hospitals and schools with great success. It actually makes people change the way they cough and sneeze.

This video was produced with the assistance of three infectious disease doctors, two hospitals, and the Maine Medical Association, to whom the author is grateful. The author, Ben Lounsbury MD, is an Ear, Nose and Throat physician.

 

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